Residents of the Amstelveen district of Waardhuizen are concerned. The disappearance of the only supermarket could well be the death knell for the once bustling shopping center in the middle of the district. A crisis meeting attracted many interested people.
About eighty local residents came to discuss the future of the shopping center – NH News
“I notice it very clearly in my turnover,” says owner of the toy store Hubert Maasdijk. “Now that the supermarket is gone, it is really much quieter on the square.” Hubert has been running his store in the mall for over thirty years, the longest of all.
“Then I have to close the doors”
The man has since become a legend in the area. This becomes clear when he gets too angry during the meeting. Several local residents comfort the seller and speak to him encouragingly. Still, Hubert is afraid that a new supermarket will not be built soon enough in the building of the former Coop. “Then I have to close the doors,” he says sadly.
Place against loneliness
That is exactly what local residents are afraid of: that all other shops will soon disappear and with them their pleasant shopping centre. “A lot of people meet here in the courtyard of the shopping center. People help each other and exchange talks, so it is an important place against loneliness,” says local resident Marian Hoek van Dijke, who organized the meeting.
“My granddaughter now comes shopping on Sundays, but that is the only option”
She is also concerned about seniors in the area who are no longer mobile. They can no longer go to a supermarket independently, because the rest is too far away. How bad that can feel becomes clear when reporter Celine Sulsters talks to an older man who has come to the meeting. “I can’t make it anymore,” he says crying. “My granddaughter now comes shopping on Sundays, but that is the only option.”
A local resident in a walker is also in trouble. “Now someone else has to do it for me or I have to go to another mall where it’s much busier at the moment because they can’t handle the amount of extra people. I can barely get through that,” she says, pointing to her wheelchair.
‘Social pearl’
The neighborhood invited two important guests to the meeting: Alderman for Economic Affairs Adam Elzakalai and Alderman for Care and Welfare Marijn van Ballegooijen. The residents hope that they will put the shopping center higher on the list of priorities, because in 2016 the city council decided not to invest in it anymore.
“As a result, we see a social gem go away,” admits Elzakalai. He can’t just change that, says the alderman. “The municipality is responsible for the public space and everything that comes with it. We do not operate a supermarket, but we are of course a very important player.” He therefore wants to talk to Netjes Beheer BV, the owner of the building.
Many local residents present are a bit suspicious, but the alderman makes a promise to them: “I will certainly make every effort, but unfortunately I cannot promise that a supermarket will be back in a few months. I can promise that I will see what there is possible to create and create the conditions to make it possible.”
Whether Elzakalai can fulfill that promise before the mall has emptied remains to be seen. “But we’re going to hold them to it,” says Marian combatively.