Homeless people, an illegal market, piled up and abandoned trash and even a fight that resulted in a serious injury. Residents of Salvador de Madariaga Park, near the mosque and morgue on the M-30, were denouncing deterioration and abandonment of what was once a meeting place for neighborhood families. Now, picking up the gauntlet of neighborhood complaints picked up by ABC last August, the Ciudad Lineal district council has begun taking steps to address the deep-rooted problems of a “very controversial point” which, they acknowledge, have no quick or easy solution.
“At the end of August, we activated for the first time the Homeless People’s Protocol, which involves the intervention of Samur Social, the Municipal Police and cleaning services. Social workers began to interviewing the homeless to take a historical view and control the people who are taking refuge in the sports facility located at the end of the park,” Nadia Álvarez, a city councilor, told the newspaper. They, he added, have refused to be relocated to one of the city hall’s shelters.
“As more and more people arrived at the park in September, we reactivated this protocol for homeless people. So, if they continue to refuse to leave the area, they insist again. And in the meantime, the street services go to see them. They are controlled. “The majority are young people,” acknowledges Álvarez. “At first, there were only two people in this sports facility, but Over the past two months it has been filled“In fact, residents have the impression that when the weather is nice, this “campsite” fills up, which particularly frightens elderly residents who, if they can, avoid the area.
Aware that the relocation of the homeless takes time, the Prefecture has decided, for the moment, to reinforce the cleaning and security services in the area: “Although the whole park has been cleanedby not solving the underlying problem, everything is filled with filth again.
Another concern that keeps the lineeros awake is the illegal market that takes place every Friday near the mosque. “There, they sell everything, things found in containers, etc. And it fills up with people from 6 in the morning,” denounces one of the neighborhood’s residents.
“We are also working to find a solution to this problem. For now, we will put up signs prohibiting street vending. This is something that We have to solve it by relying on the police, This is why, as the mayor has repeatedly requested, we insist on the need for the government delegation to allow us to hire a thousand additional municipal police officers for the city,” the mayor replied.
fill the park
Beyond the municipal actions, the neighbors are pessimistic about the future of the Salvador de Madariaga park, which has been deteriorating for years: “The problem persists, because no matter what the protocol is, they pass. Even if in the morning the Samur Social, the Selur (Special Urgent Cleaning Service) and the Municipal Police come to fix everything, the same afternoon the beggars return to the park and fill everything with garbage again. These people do not want to leave, they want to continue living there.
The neighborhood association of San Pascual, Barrio Blanco and La Alegría assures that the city council has not contacted them to inform them of new actions in the park. One of the ideas born years ago to recover the garden was install a gymnastics circuit for the elderly. This would prevent the homeless from being able to camp there comfortably. “They always acknowledge the problem but then prioritize other things,” they lament.
