Freunde des Mauerparks e.V.

Last year, conflicts between local residents and park users were the subject of intensive discussions at the Mauerpark Round Table. A participation process was set up and the Save Mauerpark initiative put forward a range of ideas for workable regulations.

As a result, Pankow borough council introduced new rules for the 2019 Mauerpark season and used multilingual brochures and park rangers to inform people about them throughout the season.

For the 2020 season, structures known as acoustic shells will be introduced as a practical way of dealing with unwanted noise. The shells form a sound barrier that protects local residents (1), while at the same time improving the acoustic experience for the musicians and their audience (2).

Flanagan Lawrence architects are international leaders in this field. Their acoustic shells come in very different shapes and sizes and are already in use in parks and public spaces around the world. Ulrich Schweizer, an engineer and member of Berlin Street Music, has designed a mobile version of the shells for the pilot project in Mauerpark. Pankow’s parks and gardens department and Freunde des Mauerparks e.V. have signed an agreement to implement the pilot project.

The mobile acoustic shells will be erected mostly on Sundays, weather permitting, from May 2020 onwards. Freunde des Mauerparks, together with students from TU Berlin and Pankow’s parks and gardens department, will investigate and document their effectiveness. At the same time, the various user groups will be kept up to speed on developments. It is obviously crucial to ensure that the musicians in the park are onboard with the project and Berlin Street Music will take on the important role of looking after communications with them.

Freunde des Mauerparks e.V. see the acoustic shells as a practical approach to resolving the conflict that will benefit both residents and musicians. In this way, we are continuing to address the needs of all the park’s user groups and fulfil our declared aim to promote constructive cooperation and a culture of tolerance and mutual respect in Mauerpark.

Six months after the Kulturgemeinschaft Mauerpark launched the Mauerpark Round Table, the borough’s mayor, Sören Benn (Die Linke party) has announced new park rules:

www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen

In numerous arduous discussions at the meetings of the Round Table, residents, musicians, grass roots groups and civil servants had talked about how to reconcile culture in the park with the need of local residents to enjoy some peace and quiet.

SaveMauerpark, a group representing musicians and local residents, made extensive suggestions. It organised a petition, which 8,500 people have signed to date – many of them Berliners and people living near the park.

Over the many months since it formed, the group calling itself the “anti-noise campaign”, which had been set up to represent residents with a grievance, took part in a half-hearted way in the Round Table, repeatedly blocked attempts to find a compromise and even threatened the borough council with lawsuits.

The borough’s mayor has now asserted his authority and come up with some practical and conciliatory solutions for the 2019 season.

The new arrangements about music takes account of both the interests of the local residents and Mauerpark’s importance as a venue for cultural activities and provides a framework to work with for this year. The Freunde des Mauerparks welcome these arrangements and, in conjunction with the Kulturgemeinschaft Mauerpark, will do all they can to support Pankow borough council in implementing them.

At the end of the day, the Mauerpark Round Table was able to bring about much-needed clarification and it will continue to be a platform where all stakeholders can get together to work out practical solutions for any problems that might arise. If everyone is committed to this, solutions can be found even in difficult situations with conflicts of interest.

The Freunde des Mauerparks are relieved that the new rules on street music mean that music (in moderation) can continue in Mauerpark. Mauerpark can continue to develop as a place for making culture and keep its special place in Berlin’s social and cultural landscape.

District Councillor for Urban Development Jens-Holger Kirchner (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, Berlin Water Works, and the Gleim Neighborhood Civic Association will be hosting an informational session on the current status of the planned construction of a water storage tunnel beneath Mauerpark.

At the event, the Water Works will present residents, park users, and business owners with a report on its transportation assessment and a detailed design of the planned construction.

All interested parties are welcome.

When: Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 7 pm
Where: Gleim Neighborhood Center (Kieztreff Gleimviertel), Kopenhagener Straße 50, 10437 Berlin

Over the next few weeks, the Berlin water company will be drilling exploratory holes for the proposed overflow sewer along the section of Schwedter Straße that is in the Mauerpark. The purpose is to investigate the groundwater level, check for any possible contamination and find out whether there are any undocumented pipelines or anything else that might obstruct future work.

The park will be accessible at all times (including for cyclists) and work will not be carried out at weekends. The exploratory work is due to be completed by mid-July 2015. The actual work on the overflow sewer – which will be a major engineering project – is scheduled to begin in 2017, according to Berliner Wasserbetriebe, the city’s water company.

Freunde des Mauerparks are working to ensure a continuing dialogue between park users and residents during both the planning phase and the engineering works.

The Mauerpark is a place for people from all over the world,
but building tycoons just see it as prime land for development. 

Developers are planning to build over 700 apartments at the northern part of the Mauerpark.  The Freunde des Mauerparks e.V. are resolutely against developing the area to the north of the Gleimstrasse tunnel in the way proposed. We have only a few weeks to halt these development plans.

The Groth Group’s plans are unacceptable for many reasons:

• The Mauerpark has become an important and popular place that is used for a diverse range of activities. It needs room to breathe and so do the people who live near it. We must preserve green space that is vital to the quality of life in our neighborhood.
• Moritzhof city farm is both educational and fun and is much loved by local children and adolescents. The proposed development will completely overshadow the farm and its surrounding area.
• A roundabout on Gleimstrasse providing access to the new housing would cause further traffic chaos and have a very negative impact on residents.

Please spend 5 minutes to tell the planning authorities that you object!

Register your support for the Mauerpark and write a formal objection to these development plans.  The Borough authorities are obliged to look at each objection.

You can submit your objections online or write them at our information stand. If you don’t speak German, write in your own language but be sure to copy these words as your title:  “Bebauungsplan-1-64a VE – Einwendung”

Guidance notes for non-German speakers:
Ihre Stellungnahme : Write your objections in this box
Ihr Name: Write your full name
Straße, Hausnummer: Your street address
PLZ Ort: City/town and zip/post code, country
Ihre E-Mail-Adresse: Email address
Giving your email and street address will oblige the authorities to tell you the outcome.