End Drug-Related Nuisance in the H-Buurt and Make Our Neighborhood Safe Again!

We, the residents of H-buurt, are deeply concerned about the increase in drug-related nuisance and pollution in our community. We feel increasingly unsafe due to aggressive behavior and intimidation from individuals, often using or dealing drugs, who linger in our area all times of the day. More and more people are afraid to go outside. Parents no longer dare to let their children play outside. The recent shooting incident in Hofgeest, at a known drug spot, is the last straw for us: we want change in our neighborhood. We want to be taken seriously, something we currently don't experience from the city council, police, and housing association. Despite years of reporting and raising issues, nothing seems to happen.

We therefore ask the city of Amsterdam to:

• treat our reports and complaints seriously;
• act more quickly and visibly in cases of nuisance and insecurity;
• provide a safe living environment for all residents, especially children, vulnerable individuals, and the elderly;
• give much higher priority to tackling drug-related nuisance in the H-buurt than currently given;
• combat pollution by drug users in our apartment blocks (we currently find needles, excrement, sleeping addicts, condoms in our stairwells);
• distribute facilities for drug users throughout Zuidoost instead of the current concentration in our neighborhood;
• implement concrete measures to improve the livability and safety in our neighborhood, such as more surveillance cameras, but also increased deployment of police and support services;

Every resident should feel safe enough to go outside at any time of day, move freely through the neighborhood, and enjoy living here.

We ask the city council, police, and Rochdale to take our concerns seriously and work together with the residents for a safe and livable community.