The Berlin Administrative Court has just ruled that Görli must stay open at night, at least for the time being. While the decision came thanks to expedited preliminary proceedings, it is legally binding for now. The final decision whether the park will remain open will come once the main proceedings are completed.
This represents a major win for the Görli zaunfrei (Görli fence-free) alliance, which had filed the lawsuit against the controversial fence. The court decided today that the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment is not authorized to lock the park at night, as this disproportionately infringes on the rights and freedoms of residents and park users.
Attorney David Werdermann also raised the points that the Senate is not responsible for Görli, there are no concrete figures to back the claim that it’s a crime hotspot, the closure adversely affects all residents (not just drug dealers), and it does not eradicate crime but merely shifts it to the residential areas nearby.
