Walking through the Plaza Mayor of Madrid and its surroundings can become a kind of game of tag from grocery store to grocery store. In the meantime, everything may seem normal. However, the problem arises when these stores that were previously neighborhood stores become 24-hour stores, in many cases where it seems that the Madrid anti-bottle law is the responsibility of others. A contagion effect that has reached the Madrid of the Austrians after (and during) causing real headaches to residents of other neighborhoods in the Center, such as Malasaña and Chueca. The president of the Residents of the Plaza Mayor of Madrid and Surroundings, Ricardo Bustos, points out that the number of convenience stores has doubled since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2021). In addition, the entity has made a map that shows how many there are within a 200-meter radius, taking as a reference the equestrian statue of Felipe III. There are 18, although Bustos assures that they are reaching more than twenty, expanding the surface area a little more, double the previous one; and this is without counting the other establishments, especially supermarkets, which respect the hours: the sale of alcohol to the general public is prohibited after ten o’clock at night. “The general framework of what is happening is that of massive touristification. all that this implies,” he explains in a conversation with ABC. Let us recall that the Councilor-President of the Center during the previous term, José Fernández, had been asked to “put an end” to the situation. “The entire San Miguel cellar, for example, is full of these stores, there are about ten of them. In Esparteros, there are three. They present themselves as grocery and convenience stores, but they open until 1:30 in the morning, others until 2:30 in the morning and then there are some that do not close at all,” complains the representative of the neighborhood, who is also an artist and expert in heritage conservation. His work is very focused on the study and maintenance of the enclave of the Plaza Mayor, where he has lived for twelve years. Report Don’t live cornered by tourist apartments Enia GómezWhat they propose is “a plan of uses”: “What is the only one. What can save the situation is to limit the number of such stores, limiting the licenses in the area so that it is not full of them. With inaction, there is no freedom,” he laments, referring to the slogan promoted by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. He assures that “the anti-bottle law is not respected” and that they have even found stores that are supposed to sell souvenirs, such as the one in the Arenal passage, where “the most sold is alcohol.” These are places run largely by Chinese, Pakistani and Bengali citizens. In addition, the draft law of the Congress of Ministers on the consumption of alcohol by minors states that “to assess the adoption of limitations on the opening of establishments,” they will examine “the density or concentration of points of sale of retail beverages,” among other aspects. “In one of the meetings with the municipal police [la última fue en marzo] They explained to us that in order to sanction, they had to check “on site” that the minor bought and paid for the alcohol at the same time. The same goes for adults who buy it after ten o’clock in the evening. For every street, there is at least one of these establishments that does not close within 24 hours,” Bustos laments. ABC contacted the Local Corps yesterday to obtain its version and the available data on inspections and sanctions. They explained that between May and July, the Centro Sur police station filed 10 complaints for the sale of alcohol outside of opening hours in the Plaza Mayor neighborhood. “This problem is known to us and that is why the emphasis is on the night shift, as well as the nightlife department so that it carries out exhaustive surveillance,” the police station added to ABC. The bottle of the “hooligans” In other words, it would violate not only the deadlines, but also the veto on the sale of alcohol and tobacco (since in these stores cigarettes are also exchanged for coins); in addition to another part of the anti-botellón law, perhaps the most important, which is the ban on drinking in public for 22 years. In this regard, the residents of the Plaza Mayor highlight the “protected bottle” that the “hooligans” of foreign football teams represent when they come to Madrid. They also attract the lateros, those people who distribute cans of beer and soft drinks when there are large concentrations of people. “In the end, everything feeds itself, because those who live in tourist apartments also come to buy at any time. The police do nothing if we do not file a complaint. We are in a time when citizens have to call to be heard. The same goes for street musicians. There are three scoundrels who stand on some terraces that serve as their shelter, with the accordion in tow. They allow them to stay for hours in the square and, when the municipal police arrive, they hide the instruments in the premises. They get fines, but nothing happens,” adds Bustos. And of course, where there is cheap and abundant alcohol, “there are fights, outbursts, garbage, noise.” All that is the antonym of coexistence. It is like seeing young people in tourist apartments partying on a balcony or even showing off without any type of clothing. Another aspect, more tangential, is the consumption that takes place in the street by bar patrons. “They eat tapas and drink their drinks sitting on the ground, in the doorways, they leave their glasses in the windows,” explains Bustos, referring, for example, to some regulars at the bars in the San Miguel market, on one of the outer flanks of the Plaza Mayor. He laments that “the neighborhood is disfigured”: “Its appearance has changed.” In addition, other neighborhood associations in the neighborhood, such as those of Malasaña, Chueca or Las Letras, say they “agree to this condition.” In fact, the entire area around Pedro Zerolo Square, in Justicia and a few steps from Gran Vía, is a gymnasium of convenience stores open all day and where you can buy a can of beer at 2 a.m. or a bottle of rum is as simple as picking up a bottle of hashish or a gram of cocaine in one of the corners of the neighborhood. Nor is it difficult to see the typical neighborhood store open in Malasaña with a coming and going of young people. people with their bags, green plastic bags filled with bags of ice, plastic cups, bottles of soda and, of course, any spirit. And well after midnight, as happens in the Plaza de San Ildefonso, very close to the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, epicenters of the historic bottles in this part of the Universidad neighborhood. And these are just a few very easy cases to verify. passing through these areas all night, especially on weekends and in summer. That is why the Plaza Mayor neighborhood association is eagerly awaiting this level of lack of control that is taking over this environment, which has been protected as a Site of Cultural Interest since 1985. In addition, the enclave is surrounded by other top-notch BICs, such as the Santa Cruz Palace, the parish of San Ginés, the Casa Palazuelo by architect Antonio Palacios or the San Miguel market itself, among others. madrid_dia_0703″In the Plaza Mayor, we want to see direct and concrete results in its conservation, and what is being done is the opposite, because above all the Administrations invest in tourism. We do not see concrete action in terms of conservation, and it needs it. Thanks to the association, we have managed to put a master plan for the square on the agenda of the City Council, which cost 85,000 euros to draw up,” explains Ricardo Bustos.
24-hour liquor stores are taking over the Plaza Mayor area: “Everyone knows it and no one is doing anything.” “The law is being broken”
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