People from the Konexe civic association believe that buildings in disrepair in the Ústí nad Labem quarter of Předlice are currently occupied, endangering the lives of their inhabitants. In their view, building no. 4 on Řeháčkova street is in particularly poor shape.
At Thursday’s session of the town council, Miroslav Brož of Konexe reported this information. On Wednesday the Ústí nad Labem town hall had published a list of 20 buildings in disrepair that will evidently have to be demolished.
According to the town, none of the condemned buildings are occupied, but Konexe says the town’s list is incomplete. For a complete translation of Miroslav Brož’s speech, please see http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech-activist-threats-to-institutionalize-ghetto-children-were-made-illegally
According to Brož, the building on Řeháčkova street features collapsed flooring, dry rot, and a water supply in disrepair, but families with children still live there. "I don’t understand why that building and other horrible buildings are not on that list. I think the town must not know anything about them, they don’t know the situation in Předlice," Brož said.
The town leadership, including Deputy Mayor Zuzana Kailová (Czech Social Democratic Party – ČSSD), who is in charge of social issues, rejects Brož’s posturing. Kailová says she has long known about in the situation in Předlice, where Romani people and other socially vulnerable residents live, and that she knows about the building on Řeháčkova street.
"The Building Works Authority has ordered a local investigation to evaluate the overall technical state of the building’s construction," town hall secretary Jiří Javorčák said. He pointed out that the list of risky buildings created by the Building Works Authority is constantly changing as the town follows the situation.
Brož publicly drew attention to the situation in Předlice through a press release last week. The town has reportedly filed criminal charges against him for spreading alarming news. Brož believes that once a structural engineer sees the damaged buildings he has spoken of, he will order the tenants to be evacuated.
A similar situation occurred last fall, when a structural engineer ordered the evacuation of people from a building on Beneše Lounského street. The town then had to address the complicated problem of finding them substitute accommodation because the property owner did not meet his legal obligation to do so. Brož believes there is a risk of this situation repeating itself.
The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in Ústí nad Labem has drawn attention in recent days to the fact that the town has no social housing concept. The party charges Deputy Mayor Kailová with failing to take action.
The town leadership, led by ČSSD, says the foundation for the critical situation in Předlice was laid years ago precisely by ODS when the party permitted the privatization of housing stock there. Apartment buildings then got into the hands of people who are not taking care of them and who often demand overpriced rents from their tenants.
