Berlin court overturns nighttime park closure — Senate suffers defeat

The Berlin Administrative Court has decided that the Görlitzer Park must remain open at night. The Senate under Kai Wegner was not permitted to order the nighttime closure of the park in Kreuzberg, the judges ruled in their emergency order. This represents a clear defeat for the state government in a proceeding that has intensified the debate over drug enforcement and citizen participation in the capital.

The initiative "Görli zaunfrei" had sued against the measure that the Senate introduced in March. Five residents filed an emergency motion and prevailed. The court saw the nighttime closure as a disproportionate infringement on citizens' usage rights. The park, known nationwide as a drug trafficking hub, will thus be accessible around the clock for the time being.

Celebrations and criticism on the ground

Reactions were pronounced. Opponents of the park closure celebrated the decision exuberantly on site and saw it as a "clear stop sign" for the Wegner administration. Park supporters gathered for demonstrations to express their joy over the open park. Critics of the closure argued that drug dealers were not the real problem, but rather the criminalization of park users.

The Senate must now consider how to respond to the defeat. The decision is initially an emergency order and not final – the main proceedings are still to come. Nevertheless, the ruling marks a setback for Wegner's strategy of combating drug trafficking through nighttime closures. The debate over the park thus remains unresolved, while the city continues to grapple with the challenges in the Kreuzberg neighborhood.