Unwanted tenants who scare the neighbors

Several users of illicit drugs who have taken up residence in a dwelling located in Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve are causing the neighborhood to growl.

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“There are drugs, prostitution. We hear screams and we see coming and going at all hours of the day and night. They do their business, leave their waste and their condoms in the alley, ”laments a neighbor who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

This is not the first time that residents of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district have been caught with neighbors who use illicit substances. The newspaper reported a few weeks ago that a building on Sainte-Catherine Street was also occupied by other drug addicts and sex workers.

According to several residents of the area contacted by The newspaper, the disturbances began in November when the tenants occupied another apartment located nearby.

Expulsion

“I have lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, and have stayed in the same place, but this is the first time that I have feared for my safety,” said a neighbor, who is considering moving.

Like him, several parents maintain that they now prohibit their children from playing in the back alley.

In July, the owners of the building where the accommodation in question is located took steps to evict the tenant.

The latter must leave from the 1^is September, under penalty of being evicted from housing, according to a decision of the Régie du logement issued on August 21.

Aware of the issues and “difficulties linked to cohabitation” in his borough, Pierre Lessard-Blais, mayor of Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, asks to be understanding.