“Bronx” an unwelcome tag in Mtl North
Police have nicknamed the northeastern part of Montreal North Bronx (at least since the time of Fredy Villanueva’s death and probably long before), and not everyone involved with that community is thrilled with the association.
Curiously, there’s also a section of Lasalle known as Bronx.
Thomas H 15:58 on 2020-12-12 Permalink
A LaSalle native once told me that the part of LaSalle between the river and the Aqueduct Canal was called the Bronx, and that the larger area with all of the commercial streets (Newman, Shevchenko, etc.) was called Texas. I’ve never found anything to back up the Texas claim, but I’ve seen/heard the Bronx referred to before. Would love to know if it’s an outmoded name or if he was screwing with me (I’m quite gullible)
denpanosekai 17:50 on 2020-12-12 Permalink
We have the Bronx library and the Quincaillerie Bronx.
denpanosekai 17:52 on 2020-12-12 Permalink
*bookstore, not library. Anyway here’s the origins:
“Peu de gens savent qu’avant 1984, ce quartier était communément appelé« Le Bronx» à cause de sa trame orthogonale, de ses avenues numérotées et de sa rue Broadway.”
Marc R 20:52 on 2020-12-12 Permalink
Kate, I live in the (Lasalle) Bronx and it’s very much a thing. There are a group of small business owners who’ve been kicking off some projects recently, one of which is a (pretty good) local newspaper called “Nouvelles d’ici” (https://nouvellesdici.com/montreal/lasalle/bronx/). There are Bronx hats for sale in some of the local businesses, a “Comité catalysateur” and a few other initiatives happening.
Never heard of “Texas” though!
Kate 20:53 on 2020-12-12 Permalink
Marc R, thanks!
Bill Binns 11:49 on 2020-12-13 Permalink
This is hilarious. The Bronx in NY is a rich tapestry of immigrants from every country on Earth. The Bronx is controlled by poor black and brown people who choose their own politicians and have complete control over what they want their borough to be. They even kicked out Amazon! Quite simply, the Bronx is exactly what it’s residents want it to be.
Now why would the folks in Montreal North consider it a slur to be associated with the good people of the Bronx? Sounds pretty racist. Perhaps they would prefer if the cops used “The Hamptons”?
CE 12:45 on 2020-12-13 Permalink
In Bogotá, Colombia, until recently there was an open-air drug market a couple blocks from the presidential palace which was universally known as El Bronx. I think it’s a nickname that has often been applied to places with bad reputations over the years, not just in Montreal.
MarcG 13:05 on 2020-12-13 Permalink
Bill, it’s not what the word means to you that matters – it’s what the cops mean by it and what the community it’s directed at understands it to mean. You sound just like someone saying “the N-word just means black person – what would they prefer to be called?”.
Blork 13:20 on 2020-12-13 Permalink
If nothing else, this is a testament to how long a reputation sticks, even long after it’s no longer valid.
The Bronx of the 1970s was, indeed, a lawless borough rampant with crime. The population was almost entirely composed of non-white people and the police force was almost entirely white. It was a war zone, and not just with drugs and robberies, but with burned out apartment buildings and whatnot. Like a third-world situation right there in New York.
It’s nothing like that at all now, but for people who don’t know how to change their minds — and particularly for people who have never even been to the Bronx but base their ideas on movies from the 70s and 80s — it will always be that version of the Bronx.
Michael Black 14:05 on 2020-12-13 Permalink
In 1982 we walked through the South Bronx. A lot seemed bordered up. It was in bad shape economically (which led to other problems).
Tne current state is probably because it was so bad then. I can think of at least one humanitarian group that set up there at the time.
Dave T 23:12 on 2022-10-07 Permalink
It’s now in Wikipedia, in the 1950s New York businessmen built rowhouses in that area and called in the Bronx. Although the Quebec govt. Has changed the name . THe area’s name is not folklore for there was once an elementary school called Bronxpark that closed in the 70’s
Kate 09:25 on 2022-10-08 Permalink
Thanks, Dave T. But you’ve replied to a thread that’s almost a year old, so I don’t know who’ll see it besides me.