An NDG landlord is going to court next month to fight a ticket he received for not removing graffiti on his buildings.
Edward Kalil's building at the corner of Sherbrooke St. W. and Westmore Ave. on the far western edge of NDG has frequently been targeted by vandals — and he says he's always quick to clean up the mess.
But, he says he's fed up — that it's a never-ending process.
"It goes on all the time. As fast as we remove it, it comes back on. Whether it's a week or a month later, it's ongoing," said Kalil.
Back in 2011, the Cote des Neiges-NDG borough passed a bylaw essentially holding the building owners responsible for keeping their buildings clean of graffiti.
Last year, despite his best efforts, he was slapped with a $1,000 fine, and how he'kk be in court on April 28 to try and have that fine wiped out.
"It's over $1,000 with the court costs and that's a significant amount of money," said Kalil. "I'm pleading not guilty and I hope the judge renders a favourable decision."
He says, win or lose in court, he'll be going to city hall afterwards to try to have the law changed, so the onus is not on the landlords to clean up graffiti.