Another rally was held in Moscow against the development of green areas: citizens demand to preserve parks in residential areas

On Sunday, a rally was held on Khodynskoye Field in the capital’s Khoroshevo-Mnevniki district against the development of the territories of the Birch Grove Park. Local residents have been protesting for three years against the construction of a temple here, fearing a reduction in the area of ​​the park, and are now unhappy with the construction of a 30-meter multifunctional complex above the new metro station. This summer, residents of several residential areas of the capital staged large-scale protests related to the cutting down and development of park areas. With the onset of autumn, passions did not subside.

Now there is a wasteland on Khodynskoye Field. In 2002, however, they planned to create the “Historical Landscapes of Moscow” park here, as “Novye Izvestia” reminds. The concept remained a concept, and in 2012, after the decision to open a metro station here, instead of a park it was planned to build two shopping and entertainment centers and a temple complex. Local residents strongly opposed this decision. Several protests were held, and civil activists wrote appeals to the authorities. As a result, a competition was announced for the concept of a park on Khodynskoye Field, and the Italian architectural bureau Land Milano became the winner.

However, the residents' struggle for the park did not end there. Recently, the Moscow Urban Planning and Land Commission (GZK) allowed four hectares to be “cut off” from the park for the construction of permanent buildings up to 30 meters high. According to the project approved by the commission, a multifunctional center will be located above the metro exits. It will house hotel rooms, offices, cafes, and entertainment facilities.

In addition, in the summer, construction of the Temple of Sergius of Radonezh has already begun in the park. The city authorities, in fact, recognized it as unauthorized construction : the Association of Administrative and Technical Inspections (OATI) of the capital announced that the work was being carried out without permission. The Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church objected that “the facts of illegal construction have not been confirmed,” and stated that they would continue construction.

The already existing Birch Grove park, located nearby, is also under the threat of partial development. “We organized a rally with demands to stop any development of parks and begin the implementation of the Khodynskoye Pole park project,” Alla Gorbunova, press secretary of the For the Park movement, told NI.

According to Kommersant , the action on Khodynsky Boulevard on October 10 was attended by about 200 residents, mostly couples with children and dogs and pensioners with homemade posters. The speakers urged neighbors not to give up, recalling successful precedents when neighborhood residents managed to defend green areas.

This happened, for example, with the Torfyanka park . Many residents of the capital learned about this small site in the Losinoostrovsky district of Moscow this summer, when local activists began to protest against the construction of a temple on it. At the beginning of June, part of the territory in a small park was fenced off. Residents of nearby houses, who are used to walking their dogs here, riding bicycles and sunbathing on hot days, were outraged that the decision to build the temple was made without consulting them. At the same time, the activists did not oppose the temple at all - they simply proposed moving it to the site of garages, an abandoned factory, or a vacant lot. To prevent construction equipment from entering the fence, the protesters set up a camp where they were on duty day and night for four months.

The other day, activists learned that their opinion was listened to: a letter came from Moskomstroyinvest saying that “due to numerous objections from residents... a decision was made that this construction is inappropriate .” Nevertheless, the defenders of Torfyanka assure that they will continue to be on duty just in case.

“I wouldn’t want us to have to be on duty day and night,” Khoroshevsk activist Natalya Chikalaeva said at Sunday’s rally. She also recalled another park, where dissatisfied local residents are now keeping their “watch.” This is Friendship Park in the Left Bank district, where people have been blocking the construction of a football field since August. Now, in fact, construction is not underway, Andrei Novichkov, a city defender from Arkhnadzor, said at the rally.

Meanwhile, not all protests by residents against park development end successfully. For example, a year ago, residents of the Otradnoye and Yuzhnoye Medvedkovo districts protested against the construction of a temple in a park near the Chermyanka River. Despite complaints to the authorities, this time the activists’ opinion was ignored: construction is now in full swing, NI notes.