Netherlands: Court case against speed eviction

By: fawda - February 10th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
Amsterdam_Simon_Stevinstraat_fist_squatting_action

The police is threatening squatted buildings in Amsterdam and surroundings with speed-evictions, which means eviction without previous notice nor decision by a judge. One of the tools to reverse this trend is to start a court-case against speed eviction.

On October 1st, 2010 , the new law 138A on ” Squatting and Vacancy ‘ was included in the Penal Code. Although this law defines squatting as a crime, squatters still have the right to domestic peace. This means that the police is not allowed to evict squatted buildings without notice and without a court sentence. Thus speed eviction constitute a violation to this right, violation that is allowed only in situations of emergency. This state of ”emergency” could be applied when the property was still in use at the time it was squatted, in case of dangerous situation or when there is disturbance of public order. Only in these cases the police can decide to evict the squat immediately. [Read More]

Tags: ,

Amsterdam: Illegal eviction tomorrow February 4th, Ellermanstraat 31, Duivendrecht

By: fawda - February 3rd, 2014  Filed under: News
2014_02_04_Eviction_Ellermanstraat_31_Duivendrecht_Amsterdam

This morning police came by to announce that the recently squatted building at Ellermanstraat 31 in Duivendrecht will be (speed)evicted tomorrow February 4th, 2 o’clock. Since there’s no reason for a speed eviction and eviction for squatting is only allowed after verdict by a judge, this eviction will be illegal. This will be the 2nd illegal eviction in two weeks.
The neighbours at Ellermanstraat 33 can also use help, even though not officially under threat. Both buildings are heavily barricaded and occupied.
So come and join us tomorrow morning at Ellermanstraat 31 from ten on for breakfast, to show we don’t accept this police-state behaviour. AT5 will be there with a camera crew to film everything, bring your own camera too! [Read More]

Tags: , ,

Amsterdam: Klaprozenweg 48 squatted

By: fawda - February 2nd, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
Klaprozenweg_48_Amsterdam

Today 02/02/14 migrants and students have begun using the office at Klaprozenweg 48 which was left abandoned due to the speculative housing bubble.
The right to housing falls into the category of fundamental rights of the person, which have been established by the European Court of Human Rights (Cedu). We want to safeguard this right and protect the soil and the environment. For this reason we continue our actions of nonviolent protest until the abuses of corporations is ended.
The failure of the Dutch welfare system and under the eyes of everyone, starting by health insurance, that is a way to extort extra money to the taxpayer and in the same time to make it a slave with a payment rate for the entire life, and devote money to pharmacy multinational that often use this money to generate new diseases which infect the world. [Read More]

Tags: ,

Amsterdam: The new squat ‘eFFi’

By: fawda - January 23rd, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
2014_01_18_Banner_Kraken_gaat_door_Van_Effenstraat_2_Amsterdam

Amsterdam has a new squat in the West.

Since the 18th of January 2014, the ground floor apartment of the Van Effenstraat 2, located in the Kinkerbuurt, is squatted. It hosts from this day on the house project group ‘eFFi’ which is doing renovations and makes it livable again; under the slogan “Better to renovate through squatting than to destroy through ownership.” The apartment as well as most of the building blocks around were supposed for social rent since their construction around 1900 under the ‘social’ housing cooperation Rochdale. The ownership and therefore the responsibility for maintaining these houses lie still by Rochdale, which however is defining these quite different and lets its properties empty and rotting. [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Amsterdam: First squat of 2014

By: sisulscz - January 9th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
Plantage Middenlaan 72 Amsterdam

First squatting action in Amsterdam 2014. Good start of the year, lots of people, beautiful empty house Today visit of neighborhood cop and for the moment we stay. Thanks to all the people that show solidarity and help to make it possible. Kraaken gaat door 2014. The house is located on Plantage Middenlaan 72, Amsterdam. Neighbourhood letter below [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Amsterdam: New squat on Sumatrastraat 232

By: fawda - December 15th, 2013  Filed under: Communique, News
Sumatrastraat 232 Amsterdam

HEY! We squatted a new place!

In Oost Amsterdam yesterday the new squat ‘The Swamp” was opened.

We are 6 people who want to use this space to make workshops, cook, teach dance classes and other creative activities.

The space used to be a gym hall and has been closed for almost 3 years. It was previously a kickboxing training hall until government funding was cut and the place was closed and left derelict.

The area is due to be demolished in Spring of 2014 by Eigenhaard but the local people have started a campaign against EVILhaard as the tenants are being moved out and only those wealthy enough for the new build standards are allowed to move back. [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Amsterdam: ‘We Are Here’ squat Vluchtgarage

By: sisulscz - December 15th, 2013  Filed under: Communique, News

On Saturday, the ‘We Are Here’ group of refugees found a new home at Kralenbeek 100 in Amsterdam.

Almost two weeks ago they were evicted from their previous squat, the Vluchtkantoor on Weteringsschans, and some of the group found temporary shelter at the Havenstraat. Since then a group of 90 have spent two weeks wandering through the city, finding shelter each night with friends and social centres. Now there is a new building squatted, in the south of Amsterdam.
[Read More]

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 19th: European Day of Action for Housing

By: dolph-l - October 15th, 2013  Filed under: News
Housing for people, not for profit!

We are confronted with a brutal European austerity regime which continues to transform our livelihoods into financial assets for global speculation, which violates the universal right to housing every day, which destroys democracy at all levels and has no socially acceptable solution for the crisis of capitalism. Not only since the crisis it is the poor and excluded who get hit by this system especially hard: un- and underemployed, homeless, precarious workers, immigrants, Roma, students, single mums, and everybody who is not willing to fit into a capitalist mode of reproduction. This group is now becoming the majority of society.

How the capitalist systems plays out in the diverse housing markets in Europe might be different, but the underlying logic of neoliberal politics, privatization and financialization of our homes is the same.
This is why we aim to stand up, to unite our struggles and to broaden our movements. We will not let us be divided by neoliberal politics.

Join our struggle on October 19th!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): October 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - October 7th, 2013  Filed under: News
Joes_Garage_October_2013_

As a squatted social center, how do we communicate to the outside world? Where do you find us on-line and where do you NOT find us? We are not here to provide passive intelligence to state intelligence agencies, or to make their task easier. Making ourselves visible on a website hosted by a radical and political server is a first necessary step. Being able to reach other activists and squatters, not only the ones based in the Netherlands, is something we would not want to miss. In the will to be an open space for political initiatives, we want to reach further than the neighbourhood, further than a city and its squatting scene.

Being a squat and having a squat scene active and visible on decent platforms may have some importance in these times of repression. Reading about houses being squatted and evicted is one thing, being able to find each other, not only on-line, knowing which are our public events has its importance to strengthen us all. [Read More]

Tags: , ,

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Plantage Middenlaan 64 squatted

By: fawda - September 11th, 2013  Filed under: Communique, News
Amsterdam_Plantage_Middenlaan_64

Sunday 8 of September, Plantage Middenlaan 64, connected to Plantage Badlaan 9, has been squatted.

This building, classified as a ¨second order¨construction, has been constructed in 1892 and in the beginning it hosted the Association for Helpless Blind.
In 1961 the association left the building and it became the entomology department of the University of Amsterdam until 2011.
According to the Kadaster, this place has been bought by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2011.
The project was to make a Moroccan Cultural Center but nothing happened because of the absence of subsidy. [Read More]

Tags: ,

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): September 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - September 2nd, 2013  Filed under: News
Joe's_Garage_September_2013

Time for some news, summer has been quite busy at Joe’s Garage and around. The one year squatted office building on the Arent Krijtsstraat 1 in Diemen is gone, back to the owner, with a fence around it but not much of a future. On June 30th, after seven years of emptiness, the Cruquiusweg 117 was squatted, making place for a new project, De Binderij, bringing some new life to this spooky Cruquiusgebied. Numerous anti-squatted buildings are rotting away in this desolate neighbourhood, symbolising more than ever the failure of local politicians in developing a neighbourhood or just keeping life going on. On July 2nd, the City of Amsterdam launched its second eviction wave of the year, unleashing its dogs to evict nine squats. Swammerdamstraat 12 was evicted for the fourth time. The greedy owner did not wait long to demolish it, infuriating still more neighbours. Thanks to the mayor, an extra sand yard has appeared! Squats on the Czaar Peterstraat, the Simon Stevinstraat 25 (Willem Beukels Alternatief), the Cornelis Drebbelstraat 35 (LaRage) and the Bessemerstraat 23 (El Taller social center) were also evicted. [Read More]

Tags: , , , ,

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): June 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - June 15th, 2013  Filed under: News
Joes_Garage_June_2013

Since 2010, the anti squat law is stating house owners would get fined if they leave their buildings empty for more than six months. Well, years later, not a single owner has been fined. That’s is no surprise knowing the City of Amsterdam. Parallel to that, 15% of office buildings in Amsterdam are officially empty. The reality would be the double.
Amsterdam is gearing up to evict squatters these coming days. The house on Swammerdamstraat 12 will be evicted for a fourth time in a few years. Let’s hope this ‘monument’ won’t make place to a sand yard for the coming years. Other squats in Amsterdam who received the eviction announcement are Bessemerstraat 23 (El Taller), Cornelis Drebbelstraat 35 (LaRage), Simon Stevinsstraat 25hs (Willem Beukels Alternatief).
On May 31st, activists and squatters were taking over the empty office building on the Jan Tooropstraat 29. The door magically opened and within minutes, the refugees from the Vluchtkerk moved in. Off course, Eberhard van der Laan the apathetic mayor was again forced to show a bit of concern. Lucky us, there weren’t any comment from the Dutch squatting expert Eric D. that day. [Read More]

Tags: , ,