“We are all happy about the development and success of the shuk, but the problem is that there hasn’t been a balance found between the entertainment areas and their owners to earn their living."
By PEGGY CIDORMahane Yehuda market reopens after coronavirus restrictions had it shut down for the most part(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
It is said that the road to Hell is paved with the best intentions. That is probably the closest to how a large part of the residents of Nahlaot, near the Mahaneh Yehuda market, feel these days. They feel that their legitimate concerns for their quality of life might sound like lack of sympathy with the merchants and businesses owners hit by the novel coronavirus.In order to offer some support to the small and medium businesses, especially the bars and eateries in the city, Mayor Moshe Lion has decided to allow a large arrangement of tables and chairs outside the venues, by effectively turning some of the streets into pedestrian malls. Assuming that most of the customers won’t feel at ease sitting inside and being exposed to the air conditioning and virus hazards, and, thanks to the pleasant climate of Jerusalem’s nights, it sounded like the perfect solution to bring back activities vital to the survival of these businesses after almost three months of lockdown.However, not everyone around is happy about that plan, in fact, a large part of the residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the shuk feel that their already deplorable conditions of living are going to further aggravate. Moreover, to add insult to injury, this is happening without anybody considering or consulting them.Tiorah Simantov and Dvorah Wilshansky, are residents of Nahlaot, each respectively living off of Agripas Street and on one of the streets inside Mahaneh Yehuda. They are only two of the residents who feel totally abandoned by the municipality regarding the impact of the market’s nightlife. Simantov made aliyah twelve years ago from the US and Wilshansky came forty years ago from Australia. They both agree that while living in such an authentic and lively neighborhood is a privilege, they note that the most basic requirements for the needs of residents are simply disregarded by all the parties involved.“We are all happy about the development and success of the shuk, but the problem is that there hasn’t been a balance found between the entertainment areas and their owners to earn their living, the right of people to go out and get entertainment and enjoy nightlife, and our rights to live like human beings in our homes in this area,” says Wilshansky. “I think it has to do with the fact that the shuk is transitioning from just a fruit, vegetable and fish and meat market into more of a nightlife market, but the infrastructure hasn’t been adapted to this transition” adds Wilshansky.The two refer to the fact that once the market area has been aimed toward becoming a touristic beacon including a significant nightlife, while nothing – or not enough – has been done to adjust these new facts on the ground with basic infrastructure needs. “For example they give licenses to bars, based on the rule that you have to have a bathroom nearby,” explains Simantov and she adds “when you have one bar, two bars and a bathroom nearby, that’s ok. But when you see that more bars are opening and they’re all relying on the same one bathroom that closes at 1 a.m. and until recently they even closed it at 11 p.m. Think of it – people drink, so where are they going to go? – That corner or another one close by, if they are close to the streets around there like Shikma and Beit Yaakov, they just go into the buildings there, where they have some privacy. For me, here they have a nice niche between the electric box and the water meters, and they make it into a ‘nice’ toilet, for men and women, since it’s a dark alley and the like.”Simantov and Wilshansky are very cautious not to be suspected of rejecting or opposed to the idea that Mahaneh Yehuda has become such a lively place. “We’re very happy with the shuk, it’s a wonderful area,” says Simantov, as Wilshansky point out another problem – the noise. “I live on Dekel Street, between Jaffa Road and Agrippas, on top of a bar and behind a restaurant that uses a blower until very late at night. It’s the noise of the exhaust fans, the smell, the music that is sometimes unbearable, the noise of the customers; it’s the drunks, the drugs, the vandalism, the breaking of bottles, the dragging of chairs, even in the hours after the business is closed. Noise in the kitchens, at 2 a.m., they drag the chairs back to their warehouse which is just here around the corner, and so on…” “But we live here,” says Simantov.But Simantov and Wilshansky are not the only ones who decided that enough is enough. A large part of the merchants inside the shuk totally reject the plan to turn some of the streets and alleys around it into malls, warning that this could be the second deadly blow on the merchants’ inside, those who do not necessarily share the same interests as the nightlife business owners. While the official representatives of the merchants see in this plan an opportunity to bring back life and to save the nightlife of the shuk from the hit of the coronavirus days, residents across a few neighborhoods, which are included in this plan see it totally differently. Most of them, explain Simantov and Wilshinsky, are hurt by the fact that – once again – nobody takes them and their needs into consideration. “I agree it sounds like a nice idea to turn streets into malls and put chairs and tables – but has anybody at the municipality checked into the details? Has anyone even thought to tell us and ask what we, the residents, think of it? asks Simantov. “We just read it in newspapers, it’s a terrible blow for us and nobody cared to inform us,” continues Wilshansky.The Lev Ha’ir local council chair (which covers Nahlaot and the shuk area) as well as the chairmen and directors of the Ginot Ha’ir (covering the German and Greek colonies as well as Rehavia – areas where the plan to close streets for installing bars, restaurants and coffee shops will be implemented) are all very concerned and called for an emergency meeting earlier this week on this issue. The aim is to make a decision stating that no changes will be implemented without first consulting the residents in the areas concerned, and, secondly, obtaining all the necessary conditions and requirements in terms of cleaning, limiting noise and disturbances before their lives turn into a nightmare.The municipality, when asked for comment, stressed that it is in continuous contact with the local councils – which have submitted some remarks on the project, to which they received responses from city staff. The municipality noted that it has a great deal of experience in closing and redirecting alternative public paths and traffic, all done in collaboration with residents. Unfortunately, city hall stated, some parties have for their own reasons opted to refrain from taking part in this procedure, which is aimed at assisting eatery owners.
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