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Feb 19,2006 - Feb 26,2006 |
City of Toronto approves Louise Russo Park
George Mammoliti opens his campaign with announcement at gala dinner
By Alan Patarga
Originally Published: 2006-01-29
Not many people have a monument, a street or a parkette named after them while they're still alive. Actually, barring a few personalities of culture or politics, this happens only to a very select few.
However, if every rule has an exception, Luisa Russo is the exception to this one. The Italian-Canadian woman who's become a symbol of the victims of gun violence will in fact see the parkette in front of her home named after her.
The announcement came during a gala dinner organized to launch Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti's campaign for re-election (Ward 7 - York West). After months of pressuring," he explained, "I've finally managed to get City Council to pass a decision to rename Flindon Park, at Weston Road & Wilson Avenue, which will soon become the Louise Russo Park. The Etobicoke Community Council had already given its green light in September, but the City Council only passed the measure a few days ago. The new plaque will be unveiled in the spring: within two or three months, maximum, the park in front of her home will get her name."
Mammoliti praised the courageous Italian-Canadian woman, who two years ago became the accidental victim of a shooting attack in a California Sandwiches restaurant near Sheppard West and Chesswood Drive. Not far from there, at the Montecassino Place, the fundraising gala for Mammoliti managed to attract about one thousand people, including Luisa Russo herself. "I'm very pleased with the attendance," confirmed Mammoliti. "In my opinion, Luisa is a special woman, very strong, determined to help our community, despite the pain and suffering she's received. She makes a difference, with her courage, her determination and her great dignity. I hold her in great esteem, and I think that if anyone deserves such a honour - having a park named after her in life - that is Luisa Russo. I hope to send her and other victims of crime a message of hope: society will not forget you, must not forget you; you are not alone. The City of Toronto has launched a program for victims of crime."
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