by Anna Ferraresi*
After last night’s devastating raid, in which around forty vehicles were damaged with their tires slashed using stolen axes, we wake up with a question: why has our beloved community become a “no man’s land”?
The municipal administration has turned its back on our hamlet despite the emphatic electoral promises of the League, which took the reins of the city in 2019. Remember the pompous words on the increase in security, the all-out fight against drug dealing and degradation, above all in our hamlets? Yes, those promises.
But now, as we approach the local elections in June, the proclamations no longer resonate through Naomo’s megaphone, but rather “mark” on electoral posters that portray him, ubiquitous, along our streets. We see it in every corner, on the bus shelters, even on the buses themselves, with the electoral apecar parked on the cycle/pedestrian path of Corso del Popolo, ignoring the passage of elderly and disabled people. It is a saturation of empty promises, an intrusiveness that clashes with the desolation of our daily reality.
Look around. Pontelagoscuro is becoming a shadow of its former self, with many businesses closed and only a few shops and bars remaining standing. The road system is a disaster, with the roads transformed into a labyrinth where no one ever wanted to remedy it. And in some central streets cars whiz by at high speed without any control. There is no presence in the area to avoid even the most common infringements: vans parked near intersections, cars on pedestrian crossings, scooters left abandoned everywhere, or the deputy mayor’s own apecar parking prohibited on the pavement.
In these years of centre-right government, situations of degradation and drug dealing have been reported several times, as well as barbaric acts against the civic centre, with obscene writings, blasphemies, swastikas, damaged cars in Via Verona, the recent vandalistic raid on the Quadrifoglio Centre. and now this latest episode.
And the reality is this: in these five years, what has actually changed in Pontelagoscuro? Have measures been taken to combat the increase in vandalism? Has work been done to educate young people about alcohol and drug abuse? Has there been decisive action against degradation, drug dealing and theft? Have meeting spaces been created for young people, where they could express their talents? There was no vision, no wide-ranging planning, but only ordinary administrative interventions. The local police force was dismantled, leaving a security vacuum that was promptly filled by vandalism, theft and chaos.
And now, after last night’s terror, what does the administration propose? An apecar as a security guard? Electoral blow-ups? It is an insult to our intelligence, a desperate attempt to regain our favor with magician tricks rather than with concrete and responsible actions.
Here are some concrete proposals:
1. Reactivate the Local Police and increase the presence of agents in the area to combat degradation and prevent vandalism and theft.
2. Video surveillance cameras in the most critical areas.
3. Implement educational programs in schools to raise young people’s awareness of alcohol and drug abuse, also working in collaboration with local associations.
4. Promote the reopening of commercial activities, giving new life to the streets and reducing the sense of abandonment.
5. Carry out redevelopment interventions on roads and pavements to improve traffic and ensure pedestrian safety.
6. Create spaces for aggregation and promote cultural and sporting activities for young people, offering them positive alternatives and opportunities for personal development.
Pontelagoscuro deserves more. It deserves an administration that acts, that listens, that respects. We don’t need jugglers, empty promises, we need tangible results. It’s time to raise our voices and demand the change we deserve.
*councilor of the Mixed Group
