Today, there was the verdict of the court case started by the owner Bewi Vastgoed to ask the eviction of the Autonoom Centrum in Den Haag. The judge rejected the claims of the owner. There is no eviction of the Autonoom Centrum on the Harstenhoekweg in the short term.
Autonoom Centrum Den Haag
Harstenhoekweg 4, 2587SL Den Haag, The Netherlands
https://acdenhaag.wordpress.com
acdenhaag [at] riseup [dot] net
Last week, eight apartment flats were squatted in Kanaleneiland. The flatslocated at Monnetlaan (within the so-called “Eiland 8” block) are the property of the city of Utrecht, and are managed by housing corporations Mitros and Portaal who want to transform the flats into free housing sector apartments for rent and for sale.
The squatters disagree with the way former renters have been treated, and are against the gentrification of the city.
Before, there were 224 social renting apartments in this blok, which the former renters had to leave in due to demolition, as a result of the long-term neglect of the homes. These plans are part of a big-scale gentrification that is taking place in Utrecht (and the rest of the Netherlands).
Based on the “leegstandswet” (“vacancy law”). The temporary renters put into the appartments, were promised, in writing, to be allowed to stay until demolition. This is how project Eiland 8 came into being, realized by Wolf huisvestingsgroep and Sophies Kunstprojecten.
Eventually, there didn’t seem to be sufficient money from the city of Utrecht to be able to build the new constructions so, the project was then sold to the Swiss-Quatarese asset management company Aventicum, that hired construction company Heijmans to have the places refurbished thoroughly. [Read More]
The Kolenkitbuurt’s struggle is part of a broader struggle which is the claim for right to the city for people. Since the Kolenkit’s neighborhood was decided to be turned into transformations with renew urban projects, such as the Koelkit project, we decided to organize the struggle hand in hand with inhabitants.
Indeed, Rochdale has the plan to renovate and sell 4 buildings in which people with 5 different types of temporary contracts are currently living. This Koel Kit project will force these temporary tenants to leave, and replaced by others, given that the 154 housing accomodations are gonna be more expensive, sold and privatised.
Therefore we went to Rochdale on the 4th of January in order to claim our requests:
1. Stop sell out of these rental houses
2. Make temporary homes indefinite homes
3. No evictions without replacement housing [Read More]
Again shoddy evidence by Chidda Lüske’heirss commit fraud by tree-felling permit
Last Thursday (January 28, 2016) Chidda C. S. again presented proof that was tampered with. Already before, crucial pages from an ecological report were made unreadable in an appeal against the municipally (10 dec 2015) and they withheld this important information in relation to the ecological value of the ADM from the environment department, who had to assess the permit for the felling of the trees and had specifically requested more information. Then Chidda hired another ecological bureau who were instructed to make a new report (19 jan) that suggests to make a summary of the previous report, but leaves out all the relevant conclusions and recommendations and presents completely other conclusions.
This is what the heirs of Lüske did in a court-case, where the residents of the ADM asked the judge to not allow the trees to be felled while the appeal against the permit to fell 470 trees in front of the gate is still going on. [Read More]
Also in in-depth procedure the judge concludes: plans insufficiently specific and realistic. January 7, 2016
Last summer the judge concluded that the plans presented by Chidda c.s. [=> Lüske’ heirs] for the ADM-terrain are insufficiently specific (verdict July 13th 2015). The municipally concluded the same on September 15th and again on December 10th 2015.
Now the judge of the in-depth procedure, a thorough procedure where every detail is investigated, draws the same conclusion. [Read More]
Where there is a will, there is a way. The former pizzaria Pino, at the Hereweg in Groningen is the oldest house in the street and has been on the demolition list for almost 30 years.
Now, 2016, it is the home for creative, free spirits.
Because the place is squatted and its interest is not economical profit, it makes it easier for people to get involved and organise something here. We notice that this activates lots op people! A few examples of activities that have taken place at Pino:
– the March against Monsanto was planned at our table
– we had a benefit evening for a teacher who was raising money for children in Kenia
– because our stage is open to all kinds of music, we get lots of surprising acts. International, but also a lot of local musicians. Almost every week we host live music here. Once we had a Norwegian duo that made music with a beer crate and a loop machine and we also hosted the very first concert of De Kat, a band from Groningen. The Pino is also part of the festival PleuropSonic, during Eurosonic, which attracts a lot of people every year. [Read More]
New squat in Utrecht!
On the 6th of January 2016 we occupied an empty Office building in t’Goylaan 125-127, Utrecht.
There is a Soupcafe every Sunday at 7, if you want to help cooking, come by at 3.
The Soupcafe is held in the 5th floor cafeteria with panorama view, everybody’s welcome.
Eviction of Autonoom Centrum in The Hague is getting closer. The AC lost a long legal procedure in which the judge declared that AC can be evicted beginning January 30th. After the verdict, AC went into discussions with the owner of the building in order to reach an agreement, but the conversation went nowhere. It looks like AC will be evicted at the end of this month.
Last summer, we received a letter stating that we have to vacate the premises by 30 January 2016. This letter did not come from the building’s owner, but from the renter. This requires further explanation; the building which AC occupies is property of Pubstone BV, a company that owns many bars. Pubstone BV rents the building to InBev, the largest beer brewer in the world, worth billions. Inbev subsequently rented the building to a pub operator. Even when the building was abandoned and when it was squatted in 2010, InBev continued renting the building. InBev terminated its rental agreement and must in their own words hand the building over empty to Pubstone. Afterwords, InBev’s lawyers sent us a letter saying that we have to vacate the premises by January 30 2016. We did not agree to these terms and filed a lawsuit. The judge ruled in favor of InBev, despite the fact that the building would again stand vacant after the eviction and the verdict was that AC can be evicted from 30 Janaury 2016. [Read More]
On Sunday 22 November a building on the Tugelaweg 18A has been re-squatted out of discontent with the current housing policy in Amsterdam. The policy that is being fought is not a recent one. The breaking down of social housing has been going on for years. The privatizing of social housing companies, which have to handle their own finances since the 90s, has created a situation in which affordable housing is considered unprofitable both by the social housing companies and politicians. Social housing companies, whose goal is housing people, are for this reason rejecting social housing instead. Local politics see this happening but do not act. Because of this the situation on the housing market is becoming unsustainable; rents rise and waiting lists become longer and longer. Exactly those people for whom social housing is intended are getting problems because of this. [Read More]
For 10 years, Joe’s Garage organizes political action, film and debate evenings, discussions and demonstrations. Everyone is welcome whether it’s for advice in precarious housing, employment and other life issues or for a bowl of soup, a good conversation, nice music or a free raincoat from the Giveaway Shop.
As known, there is a desperate shortage of housing in Amsterdam. That is, we believe, generally not because of a lack of actual buildings but due to shortcomings of housing policy, power struggles in politics and greed in this capitalist capital. None of the 50 shades of the cabinet has ever really been able to solve this urgent problem.
Therefore we squat houses. After all, in hollow promises, one can’t live from pretty words and symbolic politics. [Read More]
Today at 13:00 the DNU [De Nieuwe Universiteit / The New University] squatted Oude Turf Markt 147, an empty part of an university building of the UvA [Universiteit van Amsterdam / University of Amsterdam]. The building will be a DNU headquarters, where people can meet to plan actions, do administrative work etc. For a movement, a space to organize is of great importance, this is exactly what DNU had in the Maagdenhuis, but unfortunately that did not last. It seems that the building where they are now located will be empty for longer due to the fact that the faculty of Humanities is cutting its budgets on housing and has moved large groups of administration elsewhere. The part that DNU now owns is barricaded and has its own door to the outside, meaning the rest of the building can still be used by UvA personnel.
[Read More]
The ADM is the biggest and longest surviving cultural freehaven in the Netherlands, known over the whole world due to 18 years social and cultural renewal and hospitality. It is an organically grown village in the western harbours of Amsterdam, arising from the longing to experiment in all possible areas. The ADM is a niche in the margin of organised society. A laboratory where the arrangement of our daily lives is practised as an art form, where the development of simple and sustainable solutions are automatic and innovation is not trendy but pure necessity.
The people of this self-regulating community are closely linked to each other by the space, visions and creations they share. On the terrain live some 130 people from all ages, nationalities and walks of life. Amongst them are: children and pensioners, theatre-makers and stage-builders, inventors and technicians, dancers and musicians, actors and directors, craftsmen and -women, sailors and buccaneerss, life-lovers and ‘different-thinkers’…
We improvise with time and money, test our place in the ecosystem, tinker with human relationships and build sculptures, compositions, heat sources and means of transport using another’s waste. In a direct interaction with our environment we thus create alternative ways of living, sharing, learning and growing. [Read More]
