| The Moscow government does not distinguish social housing from exclusive housing The capital's vice-mayor Vladimir Resin, who is responsible for construction, yesterday once again tried to dispel the popular belief that housing being built in Moscow is of poor quality. As he stated, “modern social housing cannot be distinguished by its quality characteristics from commercial or even exclusive housing.” What he meant by this phrase remained a mystery, however, despite the significant improvement in the quality of construction that city leaders saw, the number of complaints from Muscovites about deficiencies continues to be very significant.
Over the nine months of its operation, the “hotline” at the mayor’s office received 2,732 complaints about deficiencies in new buildings, Mr. Resin said, 2,579 of them have already been eliminated. The absolute leader of the “hit parade” is the complaints of new residents about carpentry work, primarily about the quality of window blocks (18% of those who applied). In second place are complaints about the finishing, in third place are indignations regarding freezing, dampness and leaks of floors and ceilings. But, the vice mayor said, “you can never be satisfied with the quality.” He chose not to raise this topic again at the press conference.
But the vice mayor spoke with pleasure about mortgages. Despite the fact that “it is not yet popular due to the lack of a legislative framework,” it will be developed. Moreover, according to the Ukrainian version, a week ago a whole group of Moscow specialists visited Kyiv and “acquainted themselves in detail” with the “foreign” mortgage system. However, for unknown reasons, Mr. Resin did not say anything about the essence of this system.
As the vice-mayor emphasized in every possible way, changes in general are beginning in the appearance of the capital. By 2020, 97 high-rise (more than 30 floors) buildings will be built, and six completed buildings will be available to admire as early as next year. Houses up to 92 floors will be built in the Moscow City zone. However, officials are clearly against changing the appearance of Moscow beyond recognition. Olga PRYANIKOVA |
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