Action Alliance against Housing Shortage and Urban Destruction, Newsletter 136
Rally in front of the Real Estate Fair in the Gürzenich May 6, 2023 at 10 a.m.
Last Saturday we stood in front of the villa of the landlords of the house Wallstraße 31, who are to lose their apartments because they are commercial premises. Neighbors of the Graf family in the Hahnwald villa district sympathetically followed our rally inviting the landlords to join us on the street. Rainer Kippe really did this with the tongues of angels and quoted from Article 14 of the Basic Law: “Property is an obligation. Its use shall at the same time serve the common good.” How can the landlords accept the rents of the 10 tenant parties from the house Wallstraße 31 every month without making sure that the commercial space of the former hotel is converted into rental apartments?
We stand this Saturday at the Gürzenich in that the Cologne real estate fair takes place and demand from the exhibitors and visitors of the fair a clear announcement to the landlord count: Building application place.
https://koelner-immobilienmesse.de/aussteller/
OMZ – homeless people with a future
The hopes that were associated with the squatting in Cologne’s Südstadt at the beginning of Corona are beautifully conveyed by the film “Unser Haus! Homeless people help themselves.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMX5AF22jCs
Because the OMZ was worth supporting, the Council of the City of Cologne decided on June 29, 2020:
“The Council of the City of Cologne is in favor of refraining from clearing the occupied demolition house in Marktstr.10 (Bonner Str.120) until the demolition work begins. In the meantime, the house owned by the city is to be made available to the squatters for their self-help project “Homeless with a Future”.
The monitoring of the project by the administration will be continued.
The administration is instructed to provide the people currently living there with alternatives until the final demolition date of the building Marktstr.10 (Bonner Str.120), if necessary also as an interim, in a timely manner. The alternatives offered must be suitable for the residents to continue their self-managed housing project and continue to live together.”
Before the move to Gummersbacher Straße, a conversation took place on 10.11.2020 between Mr. Ludwig, the head of the housing office, with two of his employees and Andre Salentin and Hans Mörtter from OMZ.
The minutes stated, among other things:
“Safe assembly possibility.
The large room on the first floor on the left is intended for this purpose. In addition a passage to the outside, where in eiem professional tent the meeting tent can take place.
Transfer of domiciliary rights to OMZ
Mr. Ludwig clarifies that the operator responsibility must remain with the housing office. However, a partial transfer of the house right seems possible. The housing office will briefly outline the areas of operator responsibility and house rights.
Mr. Salentin needs a legitimation e.g. towards the police.
Mr. Mörtter and Mr. Salentin report that social work support is urgently needed. The housing office will contact the social welfare office.
Workshop rooms
The need is estimated in the plenum of the OMZ.
After that, the housing office will pass on a search request to the real estate office.”
Because none of this was actually implemented, more conflicts arose in the house than could be resolved by the residents and their supporters.
At the end of May 2023, the house in Gummersbacher Straße must be vacated. GAG wants to demolish the junk property as quickly as possible in order to build social housing there.
The new house for the OMZ is in Winterberger Straße. It offers space for a maximum of 15 to 20 people.
On Friday, April 8, 2023, a meeting was held in the house with social department head Dr. Rau, in which he held Andre Salentin responsible for the problematic development in Gummersbacher Straße. He, Dr. Rau, had spoken several times with Andre Salentin in Marktstraße and Gummersbacher and he had promised to get the problems under control, but had failed to do so. With no word Dr.Rau went on his own responsibility and the missing conversion of the advice resolution.
In view of the many police operations in the emergency shelters Gummersbacher Straße and Vorgebirgsstraße, the question of Dr. Rau’s responsibility for the conditions there arises. There are too few social workers, but at least there are a few, and plenty of security personnel around the clock with video surveillance in all corridors and around the buildings.
Hanging a sign around Andre Salentin’s neck that says “It’s all your fault,” that’s not right at all.
Winands family
Dear citizens of Cologne 🥰
finally the scandalous treatment of the Winands family reaches Cologne politics.
The SPD and not the oh so social Greens and unfortunately not the Sacred Heart Socialists from the CDU, but the good old aunt SPD brings the oath of revelation of Cologne’s social administration, the fate of the Winands family of six, to the council and is the first party to demand structural consequences for Cologne’s homeless policy.
BRAVO CHRISTIAN JOISTEN
BRAVO SPD COLOGNE
WE PROMISE YOU:
IF YOU BRING THE CASE OF WINANDS BEFORE THE COUNCIL, WE WILL STAND AGAIN WITH A RALLY OF COLOGNE CITIZENS IN FRONT OF THE CITY HALL AND SUPPORT YOU
Nota bene:
Despite efforts by ARCHE and Bethestiftung, the Winands family still does not have an adequate apartment and is sitting with 6 people in a tiny emergency shelter provided to them by charitable friends.
Since we do not expect ourselves after our experiences with our green Sozialdezernenten and Christian Professor Dr. Rau of the urban administration any more assistance, we ask all Cologne citizens very cordially to let the word of our Oberbürgermeisterin Henriette Reker of Cologne as the city of the hearts ♥️ finally become reality and the family Winands to an appropriate dwelling in its used environment to help
We ask you all to spread this call for help.
Your
Rainer Kippe, SSM
The animal-loving council alliance refuses the homeless people
still lockable single rooms
Rainer Kippe in his letter to the editor of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger:
As a long-time member of the Cologne Greens, I was pleased to read in your newspaper last Thursday that our council faction, together with the VOLT faction (“Living like in Vienna”), is taking a critical look at the use of horses in the Cologne Shrove Monday procession.
No animal should suffer for our pleasure, that is also my conviction.
Our representatives have probably lost sight of the fact that almost 1,000 people in Cologne have to live on the streets, whose quality of life is further below that of the horses in the Zoch. These have regular food, have a clean and warm box to themselves and are cared for around the clock by veterinarians.
Cologne’s homeless, on the other hand, camp out on the streets because the city continues to deny them lockable single rooms, contrary to the decisions of the council. They have to beg for their food and their health care is limited to emergency aid, mostly on the streets – they only get longer hospital stays, operations and preventive measures if they have a so-called “social entitlement”, i.e. do not have the misfortune of coming from another EU country.
Because of these inhumane living conditions, the life expectancy of the homeless on Germany’s streets is less than 50 years, “we watch them die,” says Dr. Hauprich of the homeless association “Vringstreff.”
I call it manslaughter in installments.
With kind regards
Rainer Kippe, SSM
Diploma social worker
I agree with the printing of this letter to the editor.
Broadcasts, news, news
Economist and SP National Councilor Jacqueline Badran sees not a housing crisis, but a systemic crisis. The real estate industry produces mainly concrete gold. Will expropriation help?
https://www.woz.ch/2318/enteignungen/die-falschen-leute-bauen-die-falschen-haeuser/!9HH3DX6XH78Y
Vonovia suffers losses in the billions and sells more properties
https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/vonovia-macht-milliardenverlust-und-verkauft-immobilienobjekte-fuer-560-millionen-euro-a-e64e6e54-6104-4bd2-bff5-e450e056182c?
GAG celebrates topping-out ceremony with WohnBunt in Cologne-Bickendorf
https://www.report-k.de/gag-feiert-mit-wohnbunt-richtfest-in-koeln-bickendorf/
Unbelievable:
In order to alleviate the housing shortage in German metropolises and create space for families, researchers at the Real Estate Institute of the University of Regensburg have come up with a radical proposal. Rents for holders of old, low-cost contracts would have to rise significantly. That way, those who have long lived in large apartments but benefit from cheap rent would be pressured to move into smaller apartments.
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/wohnungsnot-wissenschaftler-wollen-aeltere-durch-hoehere-mieten-zum-umzug-bewegen-a-be74b8a9-69ab-4dfa-8ea6-09af87cbe4d9
Tiny houses as a substandard solution to housing shortages and homelessness?
https://www.bagw.de/fileadmin/bagw/media/Doc/POS/POS_19_Position_Tiny_Homes.pdf
Apartments are not easy to swap
https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article245157008/Immobilienmarkt-Wohnungen-lassen-sich-nicht-einfach-tauschen.html
Dates
06.05.2023, 10 a.m., Rally for the Real Estate Fair, Gürzenich.
08.05.2023, 7 pm, Right to the City, Open Meeting. Old fire station
11.05.2023, 6 p.m., Hearing on the interim use in the Otto-Langen-Quartier, MüZe
https://97dd9b6e-8b8e-47cc-9d6f-01592ee4eba6.usrfiles.com/ugd/97dd9b_f76c0b1dcf434d868bcd8d53904a1cbc.pdf
13.05.2023, 12 p.m., Talk in Public – Search for an apartment, Rudolfplatz, Cologne
www.angiehiesl-rolandkaiser.de
16.05.2023, 15:30 Council
25.05.2023, 15:30, Committee for Social Affairs, Senior Citizens and Senior Citizens
For a city without homelessness
For a city without evictions
For a city without drug deaths
For a city without violence against women and children
For a city without deportations
For a city without poverty
May 6, 2023
Klaus Jünschke and Rainer Kippe
https://wohnungsnot.koeln
PS
Call for donations
To further improve our public relations we need money:
Donation account MachMit! e.V. IBAN: DE53370501981011342704
Intended purpose: Aktionsbündnis
Translated with DeepL
