The real estate corporation Signa is planning to demolish the Karstadt building at Hermannplatz in order to erect a gigantic new concrete building.
For us, the people in the neighborhood, this means:
- 5 to 10 years of having a massive construction site at Hermannplatz and 5 to 10 years of not having a department store
- Loss of employment for the workers in the building and the surrounding areas
- More speculation and displacement of residents and small businesses
- More CO2, trash and overexploitation of nature
We will not let Kreuzberg and Neukölln fall victim to the interests of a multi-billion corporation. We want Hermannplatz and its surrounding area to remain our neighborhood and our home. We do not need a huge new construction with hotels, overpriced office buildings and luxury apartments!
This is why we demand:
- Preservation and environmentally sensitive handling of the Karstadt building
- The securing of workplaces and businesses inside the building and its surrounding areas
- A city development that prioritizes the interests of the people from the neighborhoods
- Protection, space and respect for the people: the discriminated, the refugees the poor and the homeless
- New housing in the neighborhood for those who have already been displaced from the neighborhood
We want to continue to hang out on Hermannplatz, lay down, sit, chat, argue, love, protest, cry, eat, drink, burp, laugh, fight, dance and complain without being watched, judged or marginalized. We take our right to the city and dream of a better World.