City monitoring the situation Complaints about alcohol and drug scene at Kaiserbrunnen

BONN · Local residents and business are complaining that drugs and alcohol are being consumed openly at the Kaiserbrunnen. It appears the drug scene has relocated there because of construction at Maximilian Center. The city is monitoring the situation.

For a year and a half there was peace and quiet around the Kaiserbrunnen at the underpass to Poppelsdorfer Allee. At that time, the city of Bonn had banned the kiosk operator there from selling alcohol, because the cheap beer attracted many alcoholics and drug addicts, who then situated themselves there. There was frequent fighting amongst them and harassment of passers-by. The kiosk operator quit and the city awarded the kiosk license to a new operator. Now the alcohol and drug scene is back, to the annoyance of the businesses in the area and many passers-by.

The reason for the return is apparently the construction site around the Maximilian Center: For a few days now, the roofed area at the ramp to the subway - which has so far been the main meeting point of this crowd - is closed off with a wooden fence. "It is now spreading out here to the Kaiserbrunnen," complains the owner of a vegetarian snack bar, who does not want to be named. Since then, he has had to cope with a significant decline in customers, because most people wanted to leave the troubled area quickly. "My daughter and I have even observed how these people here do drugs on the open street," the man reports.

He had called the municipal public order department about it but an employee there accused him of lacking understanding for those people hanging out there. Monika Lunge sells flowers next door and observes that the square at the Kaiserbrunnen is mainly populated in the morning by people in the alcohol and drug scene. "Next week, school starts again, and many children go through the underpass. I can only hope that the staff of the Ordnungsamt (public order department) will keep an eye on the situation, as we were promised. So far, however, we all feel abandoned by the city."

Lunge had got the ball rolling when it came to the ban on selling alcohol. At that time there had been many skirmishes directly in front of her flower stand.

Henriette Reinsberg, who lives very close to the underpass, has also been asked several times by citizens about the changed environment around the Kaiserbrunnen. "This situation is unacceptable", says the CDU local politician, especially as it is one of the most central underpasses in Bonn, which is crossed daily by many thousands of people.

She knew that there was basically not much that could be done to prevent the group of people from hanging out there. "We have tried in vain to ban alcohol consumption in this area." But it was subject to certain conditions. For example, it must be proved in advance that the public safety is endangered by it. "I wrote to the head of the city ordinance office and asked him to take action and rigorously intervene in the event that violations occur." She planned to address the problem in her parliamentary group.

"After Easter, tips from citizens reached the municipal public order department that drugs were being consumed near the Kaiserbrunnen," confirms Stefanie Zießnitz of the city press office. The public order department works closely with police, and selling or using drugs would be punished accordingly, as would illegal urination in public and aggressive begging. If necessary, people would be banned from the area: "We will continue to monitor the situation”.

Orig. text: Lisa Inhoffen

Translation: ck

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