Burner Alley in Plateau-Mont-Royal dismantled to residents' dismay

Some people who live on Htel-de-Ville and Laval avenues on the Plateau areupset that a community back alley has been destroyed by the city.

BurnerAlley, as it's locally known,was not a legallydesignated green alley, but neighbours had taken it upon themselves to decorate the space.

People who live in the area say the collection of furniture, art, potted plants anddecorations hadbeen growing for nearly a decade.

That all changed Saturday morning, when city crews arrivedwith front-end loaders and dumptrucks to haul it all away.

Neighbours who enjoyed using the alley acknowledged it was notsanctioned by the city, but they said the city should should havecommunicated with them instead ofjust destroying the alley.

Some residents got a notice dated Aug. 24, warning them that leaving personal belongings and furniture on public property is not allowed according to the city's bylaw.

The notice did not, however,state that crews were scheduled to come and clean up the alleyway.

"We moved as much as we could, but residents not athome had their property destroyed," said resident Michael Hendricks.

The green space wasn'tloved by everyone in the neighbourhood.

CBC spoke with one resident who said the makeshift art in thealley was an eyesore, and that parties in the alley were noisy andunwelcoming.

Butat least one resident said the community alley was a step up from what it used to be a dismal, grey alley filled with trash and syringes.