Last night the fire brigade responded to the Kramatweg in Amsterdam East because of a brick that fell from the facade from three floors up. According to Stichting Woon, the incident symbolizes the overdue maintenance of the homes. Over the past twenty years, the organization has received dozens of reports per year.
“A stone came flying from the sky and fell right next to my mobility scooter. Luckily I wasn’t in it, but I was completely upset of course,” says local resident Mieke Langenberg. She, like other neighbors, fears that more stones are loose in the facade.
According to Stichting Woon, this event represents a larger problem: the overdue maintenance of the buildings in the street. For twenty years, the organization has received dozens of reports per year from residents who rent from landlord Rappange.
‘Mainly set construction’
“We have been working on these buildings for a long time,” says Imre Doff of the Woon Foundation. “We often receive reports of overdue maintenance. Now it is bricks from the wall, which is really unsafe, but it often concerns other things such as leaks. Unfortunately, the landlord does not respond well to this”
According to Doff, Rappange does carry out work, but it is mainly focused on how it looks on the outside: “Mainly set construction. No structural maintenance.”
No reaction
AT5 contacted the landlord several times today, but received no response. However, a technician suddenly showed up on our doorstep this afternoon. “This is an emergency, so they have to,” says Doff. “It could have ended very badly.”
Langenberg also realizes that she has come off well. “I’m having a grandchild in October, but if I had gotten that rock on my head I wouldn’t have gotten over it,” she says.
Doff doubts whether this event will lead to more action from Rappange. “I don’t think it will simply lead to a structural change in behavior at Rappange. But perhaps some progress will be made in these buildings.”