In the Buschkrugpark in Berlin-Neukölln there is a large water playground for children – especially with the current temperatures, that would be very welcome. However, the fact that no water is flowing is not because the district wants to save water, or has to – but because of vandalism.
According to district councilor Jochen Biedermann (Greens), who is responsible for parks and green spaces, among other things, the facility was severely damaged by unknown persons in the winter. For example, parts of the underground hoses were violently torn out.
The damage is so serious that the repairs by employees of the so-called playground crew – who take care of the maintenance of the playgrounds in the district – are not possible. Due to the provisional budget management, it was not possible to outsource the repairs until a few weeks ago.
Now an early repair was planned, said Biedermann. During an inspection, the employees of the green space office would have found further damage.
For example, a water tap was simply demolished and apparently taken away – it can no longer be found in the area, said Biedermann. Other parts were also damaged beyond repair. The district office has now filed a complaint against unknown persons.
“This means that all hopes that we can at least partially put the system back into operation this (late) summer have unfortunately been dashed,” said Biedermann. The costs for the repairs or the new construction of parts of the system are still unclear. The money required for this would then be lacking for work on other playgrounds.
