Isadore Goldberg was a city councillor for District 1 in Côte Saint-Luc from 1982 to 2001. He was unbeatable in any election for one reason: he gave constituents what they wanted, that being full customer service. This was before the internet era. What you got from Isadore was a return phone call or a personal visit.
In February of 2020 Isadore passed away. In a strange geographic makeup, District 1 in Isadore’s day included the area of MacDonald Avenue, North of Hampstead, some buildings along Côte Saint-Luc Road and yes – Marc Chagall and Sir Walter Scott. The latter two became part of my District 2 in time for the 2005 election. It is for this reason that a park, located behind the apartments on Sir Walter Scott, was named after Isadore. At that time a sign was placed on Kildare Road, meaning for those who wanted to actually go to the park they had to navigate their way through a parking lot and a narrow strip of land.
When I was elected I promised Isadore that I would do something about this. We spent considerable time looking into the feasibility of moving the park to a large green space on Marc Chagall Avenue. When that land was needed for parking lot to accommodate workers for a large construction project, discussions were placed on hold for three years.
Public Works Director Beatrice Newman, Foreman for Parks, Horticulture and Green Spaces Joanne Warren and their team were absolutely marvelous to deal with. In late 2019 I called Isadore with good news. His park would be refurbished and the sign moved to a more appropriate spot. Sadly, he passed away soon after and then the pandemic hit. Again. Projects were delayed.
Last year, Public Works completed work on Isadore Goldberg Park. For starters, the sign was moved to Marc Chagall next to a new, nicely paved pathway. Finally, there was a easy way to get there. Bollard lights and trees were installed in that space as well.
At the park itself, Public Works removed all invasive species of weeds and trees. New sand and some new play equipment was added as well as urban furniture. A drinking fountain will be added in the next few months. Because we have named the large greenspace on Marc Chagall as Sheila Finestone Park, an arrow will be added to the Goldberg sign pointing people in the right direction.
A few weeks ago we held a ceremony to dedicate Finestone Park. I decided it would not do justice for Isadore to merely mention his park as a sidenote. So, on September 3, members of the Goldberg family and some friends joined myself and Councillors Steven Erdelyi and Sidney Beniziri for a lovely rededication ceremony. We were also lucky to have local teenage recording artist Rachel Dara on hand to sing a beautiful tribute song to Isadore. Rachel is 16, the same age Isadore was when he went to fight for Canada in World War II.
I shared some kind words about Isadore, as did his sister-in-law. Mayor Mitchell Brownstein was not able to attend, but he wanted me to express how much he appreciated the 11 years he served on council with Isadore. Everyone loved Rachel’s song, Comme Toi by Jean-Jacques Goldman, about Sarah, a Jewish child victim of the Holocaust. Rachel felt it was appropriate given that Isadore was veteran of WWII.
Most appropriately, we all took a walk over to the park, which is used regularly by families living in the area and those in the condos who bring their grandchildren there.
It took some time, but Isadore Goldberg Park and its signage have been properly delivered. I am very proud to have helped see this through.
