The wave of burglaries floods the park and the local residents. According to police, there have been 10 to 15 burglaries in and around the park since the summer.
At the Festina tennis club, burglars climbed over the gate twice: “We live above and to think that they are emptying your cash drawer a few meters below you is crazy for words,” says Festina tenant Matthijs Blokland. “Our cash register was stolen, the laptop was taken and doors were broken open. Well, that was very annoying, and it seemed incidental to us, but then it turned out that the neighbors had also been burglarized three times.”
Feelings of insecurity
There are many homeless people in the park, which causes unrest at businesses. This is also the case with Florien Koenders of Het Blauwe Theehuis: “We recognized one of the men in the images and invited him for a cup of tea. He then stole things from our bar. Yes, this is very annoying, because it really makes you feel unsafe here.”
Last week, the companies sent a letter to the mayor, asking for clarification and more safety. For now, the companies are independently installing cameras and thus securing their equipment.
Blokland hopes that the mayor will listen: “Hopefully they can do more to help us and keep this park, after all, the nicest park in the Netherlands.”