Overview
- The Greens in Berlin’s state parliament proposed closing Kreuzberg to cars on future May 1 festivities to ease crush conditions.
- Party lawmaker Vasili Franco, who served as a parliamentary observer, said streets "only for dancing" would improve safety in packed areas.
- After touring parks, he reported urine flows, piles of trash and widespread broken glass, and he urged more toilets, more bins and a full event plan.
- He argued Berlin pours millions into police operations but neglects green spaces, calling for resources to match how crowds actually use streets and parks.
- Berlin’s interior chief Iris Spranger said crowding in Kreuzberg persisted despite attempts to spread visitors and called for a new concept for overfilled streets, while the district said it dropped a bottle-deposit collection effort because organizing it was too complex.