No Parking Lot in Moda Garden
İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality cancelled parking lot permit. The parking lot was going to be constructed in Moda Garden in Caferağa Neighborhood, Kadıköy.
Locals used to resist against the construction of parking lot with the tents they set up in the garden.
Today, Kadıköy Municipality announced that applications are approved and parking lot permit on the land owned by the Directorate General of Foundations is cancelled.
“Gezi” Watch
On 31 July, parking lot construction on the one of the last green areas in Moda, also determined as “Disaster Assembly Station”, was initiated.
As construction vehicles entered the area, neighborhood dwellers had gathered there and Caferağa Solidarity had started to watch the place setting up tents.
Since the locals reacted the construction, it was temporarily stopped by Kadıköy Municipal Police. Kadıköy Municipality applied to İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) for cancellation of the permit on 4 August.
Those who watched had spoken to bianet:
“Some of those coming here think that there is a rising traffic problem in Kadıköy and there is no need for parking lot. ‘Even if it is really needed, we don’t want a parking lot here. It doesn’t interest us’ stated others. So, we have a common motto: ‘We won’t allow them to construct perking lot here’. They say they will keep on watching until the permits are cancelled and there is no more risk about this issue.”
The area is actually seen as a disaster assembly station in the unacknowledged plans of Kadıköy Municipality. This information is available in the website of the municipality.
How was the garden made?
The green ares is near the Caferağa Neigbourhood Unit and health center. It belongs to Directorate General of Foundations. According the information given by Kadıköy Municipality to bianet, there are bazaar, parking lot, kindergarten, and playground in the construction plan.
The same area is seen as a disaster assembly station in the unacknowledged plans of Kadıköy Municipality. This information is available in the website of the municipality.
Melis Özbakır from Caferağa Solidarity had stated that the idea of Moda garden had been on their minds for a long time and they could finally found the current spot after an intensive search for a location.
Transformation of green area to the garden began in April.
Caferağa Solidarity started the the transformation works and the locals participated in works as well. Kuzguncuk and İmrahor Gardens and Yeldeğirmeni Solidarity helped them as well.
They prepared the soil for planting at the end of the April, first seeds were planted in May and first crops were harvested in Mid-July at the harvest fest. (AS/MUY/BM)
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.
