The experiment with longer opening hours for the boulevard gastronomy in the city of Zurich has started – some find it too loud, others feel they are being treated unfairly.
Anyone who lives above this Zurich bar must have a certain level of composure when dealing with noise.
The city of Zurich was lucky when it came to naming it: “Mediterranean Nights” is the name of the six-week trial that is intended to enable restaurateurs to operate in gardens and on boulevards until two in the morning. He started on Friday in the middle of the hot summer. According to reports, it remained relatively quiet. The city’s approval practice, on the other hand, provoked anger. Because not all restaurateurs who wanted to take part were allowed to do so.
As a result of the unequal treatment, two associations are now arguing in Niederdorf, both of which have made the interests of the residents a priority.
Neighborhood association as the driving force
159 establishments wanted permission to operate after midnight, including 63 establishments in district 1 alone. 18 of them were denied this privilege. Although they received a permit, it was withdrawn after residents lodged a complaint.
This also happened in Niederdorf. Christian Brugger, President of the Limmatquai Dörfli Business Association, blames the Zurich 1 district association, which he sees as the driving force behind the complaints.
In an email to Felix Stocker, former SP municipal councilor and district association president, Brugger writes that it is “very interesting” that complaints have been made against some local and not against others. “How am I supposed to understand that 20 meters vis-à-vis no objection was made? Is this about the discrimination of individual companies compared to others or is it really about the noise? Wasn’t there enough money for several objections, and then someone has to do the job? What is being done there is not noise reduction, but operational damage!»
The NZZ has received the email. Brugger could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Felix Stocker told the NZZ: “I understand the criticism very well. But as a local association, we didn’t make any objections. That’s what the residents did. We only provided a sample template. I have to pass the criticism on to the city.”
Stocker alludes to the somewhat special approval practice of the security department. The Mediterranean Nights failed two years ago due to a complaint from some neighborhood associations. At that time, the city had issued a general decree for the extension of operating hours. After the failed first attempt, the security department chose a different route: with individual orders for each interested restaurant.
The neighborhood associations felt unable to lodge a complaint against 159 individual permits. The city emphasizes the advantages of this route: Complaints are only to be expected where someone is affected by an extended opening time.
Seen in this way, unequal treatment is an undesirable side effect.
It doesn’t go down well with those affected. Alice Gehring is the managing director of the sushi bar “Barfüsser” on Spitalgasse. It had to close at midnight on the weekend and watch the competition go on eating and drinking for two hours. Gehring says she is happy for the others, “we would have been happy too”. Your landlady, Sigi Gübeli from Hotel Platzhirsch, is clearer. “Is that really democratic law? Either this experimental operation exists and applies to everyone – or it doesn’t exist.”
However, both women are less annoyed by the city’s practice of granting individual permits than by the Zurich 1 district association. This has asked the residents of Niederdorf to file a complaint. In a newsletter to the members, the neighborhood association even asked for donations for this purpose. He wants to reimburse half of the costs of 400 francs for a complaint to those willing to object.
“Shoot yourself in the foot”
The letter also ended up in the mailbox of Sigi Gübeli, who is a member of both the neighborhood association and the Limmatquai Dörfli business association. She says: “I’m amazed that the neighborhood association I’m a member of supports objections against me. I can shoot myself in the foot.” She was disappointed and was considering leaving. Felix Stocker emphasizes that objections are only supported with donations and not with membership fees.
What fundamentally bothers Gübeli: that the experiment is not even allowed to run through and the effects of the Mediterranean nights can be looked at in peace. She is convinced that an extension of operations is possible without any problems. The boulevard gastronomy is relatively quiet – that was also evident on the first weekend of the Mediterranean nights.
Felix Stocker has a different impression: He received around 30 letters from people who perceived the first Mediterranean nights as “extremely loud and stressful”. 38 other people had entries about disruptions on the website noisegroup.ch leave behind.
On one point, however, there is agreement between Gübeli and Stocker: the real problem is people who buy alcohol in the 24-hour shop and celebrate in public places with their jukebox with them. Calls to the police usually had no consequences, and many residents felt powerless.
However, Felix Stocker also sees a connection with the Mediterranean nights: many see them as a free pass to celebrate.
No first conclusion can be obtained from the city. At the end of the test, a balance is drawn, according to the security department.