The mayor of Berlin-Mitte has had enough: After several cases of escalating violence in James-Simon-Park, visits will be prohibited in the evening. Controls have been announced – and fines.
Berlin – During the corona pandemic in Berlin’s James-Simon-Park across from Museum Island there were clashes between celebrating visitors and police officers. Sometimes they lasted until the early hours of the morning. This should be over now.
The Mitte district is taking action: Visiting the park is no longer allowed after 8 p.m. on Friday. If you do not adhere to it, you risk a fine, said district mayor Stephan von Dassel on Thursday of the German press agency.
The district will issue a general decree, which will come into force on Friday, said the Green politician. Von Dassel had announced these plans on Wednesday evening on Twitter and also announced that the restaurants located in the S-Bahn arches at the park had been urgently asked not to sell alcohol to take away. In the future, the district also wants to ensure that the alcohol ban in James-Simon-Park, as set out in the Infection Protection Ordinance, is complied with.
More stripes in the park
Von Dassel announced that the district office would send several patrols to the park for controls. You shouldn’t show up there at 8 p.m., but inform visitors about the new rules beforehand. “The fuller and the more aggressive it gets, the more it has to be supplemented by the police,” said von Dassel. Anyone found in the park after 8 p.m. should expect a fine of 25 euros or more. Depending on the severity of the offense, it could also be significantly higher. A fence is not initially planned.
Only last weekend were the police pelted with bottles and stones. In the small park, in which around 2500 visitors crowded at times, 19 police officers were injured on Sunday night.
Role models in France and England
Berlin is following the example of other European countries. In France, for example, many parks are generally not accessible at night, while others were completely closed during the corona pandemic. Parks in England are often fenced and locked after sunset. In the corona pandemic, in which many city dwellers learned to appreciate their green spaces anew, there were several “Respect Your Local Park” campaigns that called for people to take rubbish with them and to behave respectfully towards others.
The police union (GdP) has welcomed the announcement by the district in principle. Berlin’s CDU parliamentary group leader Burkard Dregger, on the other hand, was skeptical. “We warn against rash quick shots in James-Simon-Park,” he told the German press agency. “How many green spaces does Herr von Dassel want to block, into which party-goers could then migrate?” Dpa
