New name suggested for Mohrenstraße, serial rapist caught
The SPD and Green parties have a new suggestion for renaming Mohrenstraße. They propose taking the new name from Anton Wilhelm Amo, one of the first black philosophers and legal scientists recognized in Berlin. Born in Ghana, he was kidnapped as a child and brought to Europe in the early 1700s. Now SPD and the Greens want to honour him by renaming the subway station and the associated street name.
An alleged serial rapist was arrested in Wannsee on Tuesday evening. A hunt involving helicopters, drones, and sniffer dogs began after a violent sexual attack on a jogger in Potsdam earlier in the day. Police initially spotted a man on a bicycle in the area who matched the descriptions of the attacker. He then fled into the forest before being found near Wannsee. Investigators are nigh-certain that they have the man responsible for seven previous rapes dating back to June 12, five of which took place in Berlin-Grunewald.
Communal clean up for Hasenheide, CDU backs Berlin clubs, city behind in housing goals
A woman from Neukölln has created a communal clean up project for Hasenheide park. Carola Muysers is calling on people to gather every Monday from 10am to clean up the park, which has recently become known for its weekend raves. Garbage was a serious problem long before the raves, but waste is said to have increased in 2020, due to the increased use of the outdoor space. Only three people turned up to the inaugural sweep last week, but they managed to fill four garbage bags in just one hour, which contained large quantities of bottle caps and broken glass. They also found plenty of leftover food, which has potential to attract rats if not removed quickly. Muysers has labelled the clean up a “Sisyphean” task, but it could be one necessary if the city's green spaces are to continue to provide hygiene-friendly social spaces.
The Berlin CDU is calling for radical state intervention to save Berlin’s clubs, beyond the millions of euros already pledged. They suggest that landlords forego their claims to half the rent, while the state pays the balance. The conservative party have surprised their left-wing rivals in their unflinching support for the club scene. Forcing private landlords to give up their rights to rent is obviously peculiar territory for a right-wing party. Where else but Berlin could this happen?
Due to missing blueprints and building permits, Berlin’s housing associations are behind in fulfilling their goals. Berlin urgently needs more affordable housing, so the urban development senator Katrin Lompscher has formulated goals to tackle this problem. However, the six housing associations of Berlin (Degewo, Gesobau, Gewobag, Howoge, Stadt und Land and WBM) are severely behind. Lompscher has yet to speak out on the matter.
Five-star hotels goes bankrupt, first public sketches of Tesla factory
The five star Sofitel hotel in Kurfürstendamm, with 267 bedrooms, 16 conference rooms, and a 350-person ballroom, has declared itself bankrupt. The collapse of tourism due to Corona is the main threat to the hotel, which only opened in 2005. Its 148 employees now face uncertain futures, with their wages only secured until the end of August by the federal employment agency. Normal hotel operations will continue until the end of August, but unless there is a substantial uptick in bookings the hotel might be forced to permanently close. At the moment, only 25 percent of rooms are booked.
Elon Musk has posted an artistic rendering of the planned Tesla plant in Brandenburg on Twitter, captioned “Giga Berlin”. The roof of the mammoth construction will be covered in solar panels, a water feature and a “rave space”. On Monday the environmental ministry granted Tesla the right to begin constructing the foundations for the site. But the arrangement includes the caveat that if Tesla is not granted permission to complete the factory, then they will have to pay to have their own initial constructions removed.