Clean-up work in Reinickendorf: The school areas are back!

Clean-up work in Reinickendorf: The school areas are back!

The work to deal with the storm damage in Reinickendorf is increasingly taking shape. How berlin.de reported that additional school areas have been made available for use since last week. The Bertha-von-Suttner-Gymnasium, the Campus Hannah Höch community school and the Atrium youth art school are affected. Of a total of 59 school locations, 42 can now be used again.

The Roads and Parks Department is still in the process of examining the remaining locations. The aim is to make all areas available again by the end of the school holidays. Some sports facilities, such as those on Hatzfeldtallee and Elchdamm, will also be available again from tomorrow. In addition, the areas of the comX children's and youth center and the Haus am See district center were released.

Delayed infrastructure restoration

Nevertheless, there is dissatisfaction about the ongoing restrictions. Three weeks after the devastating storms, many green spaces, parks and playgrounds in Reinickendorf are still closed. The district office had imposed these closures for an indefinite period by general order. In addition, the Tegel Harbor Festival was initially postponed, and cemeteries and other sports facilities also remain blocked. A large family sports festival with 10,000 expected visitors had to be canceled, which was sharply criticized by the SPD and the Greens.

Restoring the infrastructure is proving to be an organizational and financial challenge, as the district office explains. It has registered over 1,400 storm damages, with damages being processed following a risk assessment. Particularly sensitive places such as schools and cemeteries have top priority. Critics, such as Green MP Klara Schedlich, are calling for a clear timetable for the clean-up work.

Damage balance and future challenges

The situation in Reinickendorf is particularly tense. Loud tagesspiegel.de The district will have to expect several million euros to repair the damage after storm “Ziros” swept over Berlin at the end of June. As a result of the storms, numerous trees were uprooted and roads and general infrastructure were damaged. Between June 23rd and July 1st, the fire brigade was deployed more than 1,700 times.

Particularly in the Tegel and Spandau Forests, an immense number of trees were fallen or damaged. The Bundeswehr was also asked for support. The resources needed to repair the damage cannot yet be fully estimated as further damage reports are expected from various districts.

The road to normality is still long for Reinickendorf. While some areas are reopening, citizens' dissatisfaction with the lack of communication from the district office remains. Dealing with the challenges carefully and transparently could help restore trust in the administration and make it easier to return to a regular everyday life.