Civic Groups and Green Spaces in the Capital

Located in the central-eastern part of Bucharest, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park covers 85 hectares

Christine Leșcu, 27.12.2023, 14:00

Located in the central-eastern part of Bucharest, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park covers 85 hectares, and is one of the largest landscaped areas of green space in the capital, also having a lake in its center. Known since the communist era – when it was laid out – as the IOR park (after the name of the nearby optical equipment factory), it is still one of the favorite areas in Bucharest for promenades and outdoor activities. Unfortunately, the air, even here, has become polluted in recent years. In 2005, 12 hectares of the park were returned to pre-Communism owners, in a lawsuit that remains controversial to this day. After a certain period since the so-called ‘privatization’ of this perimeter, the residents of the area noticed the vandalism on the green space there. For example, since then, there were 21 vegetation fires. In order to counter the destruction of the park and air pollution, the citizens of the neighboring neighborhood formed the Civic Initiative Group IOR – Titan, in an attempt to counter the destruction of the environment in which they live. What upsets them in particular, we learn from Alex Icodin, a member of the civic initiative group.

“We were born in a green neighborhood, with the green IOR park, beautiful, with alleys, with playgrounds. And now we find that the park disappears from year to year, it is poisoned, set on fire, assigned to some people, retroceded on some documents that we don’t think are right, and this will be proven. And we no longer benefit from the green nature of the IOR park, the place where we grew up and spent our childhood. The trees were systematically drilled, they were poisoned, they dried up where they stand, they began to fall. The passage of time and weather were not enough. They also set fire to them. There have been a lot of fires in the park, and we always report fires and call the fire department and thank them for that. Do you realize what it’s like for a park to burn for hundreds of meters between blocks? All these things are done to turn the park into a desert that no longer matters for the citizens, a desert that, through illegal interventions, they hope to eventually turn into construction land, a desert that is a terrible reminder of the green place that we enjoyed, and that we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

Following the protests and complaints from this group, the authorities timidly began to take certain measures, without much success. For example, the lawsuit by which the city hall of sector 3 of Bucharest was supposed to recover this piece of land was lost. What are the people in the neighborhood doing in the meantime? They keep protesting tirelessly, Alex Icodin tells us.

“We are trying to help recover these 12 hectares in the IOR park on behalf of the citizens of Sector 3. It is complicated, because we know that there were some lawsuits that the local mayor’s office lost, because there are many interests involved. You realize that, in the middle of Bucharest, twelve hectares on which some people want to build, to make a profit, and some other crazy things with very high stakes. On the other hand, we managed to mobilize the citizens and this spring we managed to gather over 1,500 people to protest in the park, to feel that it is their property, which was unjustly taken away, and to claim their rights.

This fall, however, after years of protests, a symbolic victory finally took place: the capital city hall issued a record fine of 35 million euros for the destruction of green space. An impressive sum, but who could pay it? The owner of the retroceded and vandalized land in the Alexandru Ioan Cuza park, former IOR, is an octogenarian pensioner, a fence for real businessmen, as believed by the members of the initiative group, among whom is Cristian Neagoe.

“This fine is, finally, a serious signal from the mayor’s office that things don’t have to stay that way. It’s a record fine, and puts ecocide among the very nasty things a real estate developer or, let’s face it, the kickback mafia can do. Unfortunately, like any fine, it comes a little too late. Those poisoned trees are gone. It will take decades for them to grow back. The green space was scoured, it was destroyed. These things cannot be brought back to their original state without investing a lot of time and a lot of effort. It is important to say that we don’t have that much time left to restore the park and green areas in Bucharest, because, as you can see, the weather is starting to get warmer. Cities are islands of heat. We need these green spaces like we need air, especially since, at the moment, in reality, we have less than seven square meters of green space per inhabitant in Bucharest, and we would need about 50 for a decent life, according to the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the owner challenged the record fine in court. Therefore, another lawsuit is upcoming, against other reprehensible acts alleged by the IOR-Titan Group, such as dumping a pile of dirt to block the entrance to the park in front of a subway station. But, as the members of the civic initiative group assure us, these tactics will not deter them, and they will continue to claim their right to live in a neighborhood with clean air and green spaces.