Urban development | Laskerkiez in Berlin: Flower meadow instead of concrete desert
There was a lot of noise in front of Kreuzberg's town hall on Wednesday afternoon. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district council (BVV) was meeting there from 5 p.m. In addition to children protesting the "demolition" of the Ludwig Hoffmann School, a group of around ten people attracted attention with unusual paraphernalia. Some carried colorful bouquets of flowers, and one man held a paving stone. "The stone is meant to symbolize concrete, and the bouquets represent the Laskerwiese, which we are committed to," said Thomas, holding the stone up one last time before putting it in his briefcase.
Laskerwiese is located just a few hundred meters from Ostkreuz train station and the busy access roads. Especially during the warmer months, this small green oasis is a meeting place for the neighborhood. In addition to the lawn, there is a soccer field and barbecue facilities, as well as 35 garden plots where residents grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit.
Now the neighborhood gardeners want to expand. This is also the reason for their visit to City Hall. "We want to extend the Laskerwiese to Bödikerstraße to enlarge the park and build accessible flowerbeds so that the children have more space to play," explains Julia from the Bürgerwiese Laskerkiez association. She pointed out to "nd" the growing importance of green spaces in cities in light of climate change. Over 5,000 people have signed a petition calling for this. The petition was presented to the responsible district councilor, Annika Gerold (Green Party), on Wednesday afternoon.
The Green Party politician praised the Laskerwiese association's years of community engagement and assured "nd" that she supported the call for an expansion of the meadow. She also referred to a resolution passed by the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg BVV (community council) on December 13, 2023, which calls for an expansion of the Laskerwiese. The fact that it has not been implemented to date is due to a lack of funds, which are being denied primarily by the Berlin Senate. Gerold's party colleague and member of the House of Representatives, Julian Schwarze, fears that little will change in the foreseeable future. "The current Senate is focusing on concrete instead of neighborhood gardens," he tells "nd."
"The current Senate is focusing on concrete instead of neighborhood gardens."
Julian Schwarze (Greens) Member of the House of Representatives
Perhaps a financing opportunity will still arise. The investor Pandion has built its Ostkreuz campus in the immediate vicinity of the meadow. District Councillor Annika Gerold reported to the BVV that talks with Pandion regarding the road redesign around Laskerwiese are nearing completion. With Pandion's contribution to the costs, the expansion of Laskerwiese would be possible.
Gerold's information that the area on Bödikerstraße is no longer needed for buses is also good news for the neighborhood gardeners, providing more scope for a larger lawn. However, the fact that other investors besides Pandion have built luxury buildings in the Laskerkiez remains a concern. The "Who Owns the Laskerkiez?" initiative has been fighting against this for four years. It supports the Bürgerwiese Laskerkiez association in its demand for an expanded green space. It is important to the neighborhood initiative that the garden can then also be used by the people who currently live in the neighborhood.
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