The day after the fire in May 2020, many residents of the Sterrenbuurt stood looking defeated at the smoldering remains of the building. The former work shed of the municipal maintenance department has served for 22 years as a home for the bridge club, neighborhood council meetings or a neighbor’s anniversary party.
Former manager Ge Metselaar stands with tears in his eyes looking at the remains of the lovely shed with thatched roof. “It was my baby.” Unfortunately, he has since passed away and was unable to experience what his neighbors subsequently achieved.
Right to Challenge
The reconstruction of the Posthuis will be one of the first neighborhood initiatives in Haarlem in which the residents decide and manage everything themselves. A phenomenon that came over from England, called ‘Right to Challenge’.
“Because as local residents, we know better what we need here,” says one of the initiators Ingrid van Koppenhagen. With the insurance money and a fundraising campaign, they can do it themselves instead of the municipality deciding whether and what a new community center will look like.
Sinterklaas
This autumn, Sinterklaas was the first to receive his young visitors from the neighborhood again in the Posthuis. The residents of the Sterrenbuurt will officially open their own place on May 9, 2025, exactly five years after the devastating fire.