The future of Humboldthain club is under threat. The proposed hotel construction directly adjacent to the club has just gotten the green light from the Mite building authority, which issued a preliminary building permit for the Luxembourg investor planning to erect the structure.
Particularly concerning is the noise protection standard set for the new hotel, which has been set at a meager 50 dB – the volume of a normal conversation. Such a low standard practically guarantees noise complaints will be filed against the club, forcing it to cease operations.
By putting the interests of foreign investors before the preservation of Berlin’s UNESCO-acclaimed cultural scene, the Mitte building authority is defying the recent resolution of the district assembly, which saw all parties unanimously vote in favour of protecting the club 42:0.
Similar gentrification is also threatening the RAW site, where the legal battle to preserve cultural venues has just reached an unprecedented level as the owner of the site, the Kurth Group, unilaterally cancelled all discussions about the future of RAW-West, declaring the zoning plan process a failure and retreating from the negotiating table.
Instead of a compromise solution, which would guarantee existing cultural venues 30 years of continued operation at fair rents in exchange for the district allowing new construction, the Kurth Group began handing out eviction notices. As of this morning, multiple venues have already received these; sources close to the operators say that an eviction of Cassiopeia at the end of June would equal its immediate insolvency.
The State of Berlin intends to approach the Kurth Group again, demanding an explanation for this aggressive course of action. Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg’s Greens, Left Party and SPD intend to hold a special meeting of the Committee for Urban Development at which the matter is to be clarified.
