Article content

MONTREAL — Once best known for its bikers, drug addicts and prostitutes, the Montreal neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has undergone a dramatic transformation. Restaurants featuring duck confit and foie gras have joined the greasy spoons in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium, and young professionals are snapping up condos. It even has a trendy New York-style nickname: HoMa.

“Synonymous with renewal and economic dynamism, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is generating more and more interest among investors,” a merchant association boasts on its website.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Anti-gentrification forces smash restaurant windows in Montreal neighbourhood on the rise Back to video

To some, however, that interest is toxic, and over one night last week, four new upscale restaurants had their windows smashed. The anonymous vandals left tracts warning the restaurateurs — or “gentrification collaborators” as they were labelled — to pack up.

“You are not safe in our neighbourhood,” read the letter, which was attached to a brick thrown through the windows. “Your union of owners can [do] nothing against us.