The children. Reachability. The non-participation of residents, just some of the counter arguments that citizens and some administrators cite against the arrival of a sex center in Zuid: RAI residents made themselves heard on Wednesday evening in a noisy demonstration. In Noord, things were much calmer during a discussion between the district committee and experts at the NDSM wharf, another designated site. But the meaning was the same: zero tolerance with the new red light, says AT5.
The initiator of the noisy demonstration on RAI considers the idea of a sex center in her neighborhood a real threat to the safety of Zuid’s children. In addition to parents and their children, older Amsterdammers are also making themselves heard. “I won’t go on the subway anymore,” an elderly lady tells AT5. At the end of the rally, citizens handed over 7633 signatures to the Zuid district committee.
In Noord, a so-called expert meeting was much quieter but the gist remains the same: not here. “We find the Docklandsplot on the NDSM unsuitable as a location,” he says district president Brahim Abid. Earlier this week, he and two other rebel district councilors already published a draft recommendation containing the rationale for Noord’s “no”.