Sweet sixteen and still angry! Protestmanifestatie

By: börek - September 7th, 2021 Filed under: Manifestatie, Protest, Woonstrijd

Sweet sixteen and still angry! Protestmanifestatie op 11 september

Joe’s Garage is 16 jaar geleden gekraakt. De kraakgroep Oost is nu zo’n 20 jaar aktief in de Transvaalbuurt, vanaf de kraak van Pretoriussstraat 28 in 2001. We zijn wekelijks open voor de buurt met de weggeefwinkel, het kraakspreekuur, de films en de volkskeuken.
Naast de aktviteiten als kraakgroep met panden als Het Blijvertje en de Valreep hebben we mede aan de wieg gestaan van initiatieven in Oost als Bajesdorp in het Amstelkwartier, de Nieuwland in de Dapperbuurt en binnenkort de Nieuwe Meent aan het Archimedesplantsoen waarbij we panden in collectief eigendom hebben verworven en dat gaan combineren met activiteiten voor en in de buurt.

Ondanks dit alles staat in Amsterdam-Oost/de Transvaalbuurt de sociale verhuur en ander betaalbare woonruimte onder grote druk van speculatie op de woningmarkt, waarbij steeds meer mensen financieel in de knel komen. Steeds meer onzekerheid van je huisvesting vanwege tijdelijkheid en/of betaalbaarheid maken mensen wanhopig.

Goede betaalbare en zekere huisvesting is geen luxe artikel, maar een noodzaak voor een ieder!

We willen onze vejaardag gebruiken om een oproep te doen om aan te sluiten bij het nationale woonprotest.
We willen een einde aan de uitverkoop van Oost, te beginnen in de Transvaalbuurt.
We steunen Het Wonen Protest, en de demonstratie tegen de wooncrisis op 12 september vanaf het Westerpark om 14:00.

Kom spandoeken maken we op het Steve Bikoplein. We organiseren op 11 september een protestmanifestatie tegen de totale uitverkoop van de Transvaalbuurt. Je kan van 14:00 tot 19:00 op het Steve Bikoplein terecht voor de manifestatie, heel veel flyers en leeswek, eten op donatie en muziek.
Tot dan!

[…Lees verder]

Tags: housing struggle, kraken, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

New Squatting Law – Squat Wars IV, Return of the squatting ban.

By: börek - July 4th, 2021 Filed under: Nieuws

The Dutch government recently passed a new law, Wet Handhaving Kraakverbod (or law to Enforce the Squatting Ban), with the aim of evicting squatters more quickly. There is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what exactly this law will entail and especially what influence this will have on squatters and their housing rights.

Unfortunately, this text will not be able to answer all questions since this law has been written by politicians who see squatting as a terrible thing and want to get rid of it, without actually seeming to have much understanding of the legal protocols and procedures. The result is a law that says that from now on, squatters must be evacuated more quickly without clearly establishing exactly how this should work. Both the Public Prosecution Service, the Council of Judiciary and Bond of Lawyers strongly criticised the proposal and called for this law not to be adopted, nevertheless a large majority voted in favour and this law entered into effect on 19 May, 2021. […Lees verder]

Tags: housing struggle, kraken, Urban Struggle, Wet Handhaving Kraakverbod, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Shoarma Take to the square

By: börek - August 7th, 2020 Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Monday August 10th 2020, Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Shoarma Take to the Steve Bikoplein, the square next door, from 7pm till 9pm. No reservation.
The anti-authoritarian collective Ajo Negro is cooking at Joe’s Garage. The benefit will go to support squatting legal costs in Amsterdam.

Ajo Negro is an anti-authoritarian collective that cooks to support events and projects of social transformation. It is run by volunteers based on a libertarian perspective. Encouraging human and non-human freedom. We are an active kitchen that criticise capitalism and welfarism. We choose vegan as a nourish option and as a political decision. We help each other in a horizontal way, considering that the collective effort is more fruitful that the individual one. […Lees verder]

Tags: Ajo Negro, Gentrification, housing struggle, kraken, Squatter's Legal Defence Fund, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Pizza Take to the square

By: börek - July 5th, 2020 Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Monday July 6th 2020, Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Pizza to take to the Steve Bikoplein, from 7pm till 9pm. No reservation.
The anti-authoritarian collective Ajo Negro is cooking at Joe’s Garage. The benefit will go to support squatting legal costs in Amsterdam.

Tags: Ajo Negro, Gentrification, housing struggle, kraken, Squatter's Legal Defence Fund, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Pizza Take to the square

By: börek - June 4th, 2020 Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Monday June 8th 2020, Benefit for legal fund. Vegan Pizza to take to the Steve Bikoplein, the square next door, from 7pm till 9pm. No reservation.
The anti-authoritarian collective Ajo Negro is cooking at Joe’s Garage. The benefit will go to support squatting legal costs in Amsterdam.

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchens existing since the very beginning of Joe’s Garage, June 2005. All benefits go to social & political struggles. Joe’s Garage is a space run by volunteers. Without a collective effort, without your active participation, we’re remaining closed. Get in touch in you feel like giving a hand. We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. If you want to know which days are still available, mail us.

Tags: Ajo Negro, Gentrification, housing struggle, kraken, Squatter's Legal Defence Fund, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Squatter’s Legal Defense Fund benefit. Steve Bikoplein Volkseten Vegazulu and basketball game

By: börek - June 3rd, 2020 Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday June 4th 2020, join us and the Transvaalbuurt on the square, the Steve Bikoplein, to share some food, meet the community and play some basketball. Your donations are welcome to support the Squatter’s Legal Defense Fund. The Steve Bikoplein is big enough not to step on each others. Food is served between 19:00 and 21:00. No reservation for the food. Bad weather won’t stop us providing food. In case of rain, we’ll serve the food to take away from the square or from Joe’s Garage.

Even if squatting became a criminal offense in the Netherlands in October 2010, people have still been squatting empty houses, office buildings, derelict factories, abandoned terrains all around the country. As politicians, mayors come and go, the housing shortage hasn’t been solved but worsen. We’re witnessing a continuous housing crisis, a lack of affordable living space, on which the media has no interest in reporting the roots of the problem, too busy seeking sensation exhibiting a bunch of black hooded squatters. Real estate has been given free hands by politicians, councils don’t even have the will nor the capacity to act against landlords keeping buildings vacant, anti-squat is a flourishing business as ever, perpetuating precarious living conditions, while social housing corporations are more concerned about their property portfolio than social housing itself.
Will the Amsterdam city council take action against owners of these Airbnb apartments which magically appeared to rent on the free market during the covid-19 crisis? It might be only good intentions, once again. Soon, Amsterdam will be packed again with tourists in need of a place to stay.
End of 2019, Halsema announced an intensification of the repression against squatters, too busy she is profiling herself within the political landscape, just like she does when appearing smiling at a demonstration on the Dam square.
Repression against squatters is nothing new. It is visible all around the Netherlands. Mayors are applying a zero tolerance policy as squatters and other housing activists keep up the fight. Support and donate to the Squatter’s Legal Defense Fund, come along and participate.

Tags: Gentrification, housing struggle, kraken, Squatter's Legal Defence Fund, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Squatter’s Legal Defense Fund Voku

By: börek - May 28th, 2020 Filed under: Benefiet, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday May 28th 2020, Squatter’s Legal Defense Fund Voku, Vegan Takeaway Voku. Pick up food from 7pm till 8:30pm. See you on the Steve Bikoplein.

Squatter’s Legal Defence Fund Voku

Tonight’s voku (People’s Kitchen) is to raise money for the squatter’s legal defense fund. The fund provides money to people who incur legal costs while squatting buildings in Amsterdam. Typically, this money is used to pay for court cases brought against squatters by owners or the state, but it can also be used to pay fines for people who are charged with squatting or other related charges. These costs can run into the thousands, so every little helps.

Recent Developments in Amsterdam

Over the last few weeks, the city has evicted several squats, despite the precautionary measures introduced by the government to stem the spread of the corona virus (apparently we are not ‘all’ in it together!). What is more, the evictions seem to have happened in spite of the city’s much touted ‘no evictions for emptiness’ policy.

Earlier this month, squatters residing in a building next to Sarphatipark were evicted even though the owner could not demonstrate that they had any concrete plans for the building during the court case. This is something we have seen time and time again over the last couple of years and raises, once again, the question of whether the ‘no evictions for emptiness’ policy is really still in effect. Owned by the van Zijl family, Sarphatipark 87 in de Pijp was squatted on March 8th 2020 and is again left vacant. A poster from an anti-squat company is hanging behind a window.

Another group was evicted from the Eerste Helmersstraat 80 in Oud-Weston on Sunday May 24th after only two days inside a building. When the inhabitants were arrested, the owner Stadgenoot hadn’t file a complain yet. The police, the city took their own initiative to evict a squat and the inhabitants had no a chance to defend themselves in court, and were charged with squatting. These charges will be fought and to do this the individuals involved will need the financial support that the legal defense fund can provide in order to pay for lawyers and court costs.

You can also keep up to date with squatting in Amsterdam on the Joe’s website: https://joesgarage.nl/

Thank you for supporting the legal defense fund.

Tags: Eerste Helmersstraat 80, Gentrification, housing struggle, kraken, Sarphatipark 87, Squatter's Legal Defence Fund, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

Amsterdam’s New Policy: No Eviction for Emptiness…

By: börek - May 13th, 2020 Filed under: Nieuws

[nederlands] [français]

As a squatter in Amsterdam, looking back on the past year is painful. 2019 dealt heavy blows to a movement that didn’t seem capable of much more than taking the beating. The city has lost its largest squats and despite numerous squatting actions, hardly any new buildings have survived the end of the year. What’s more, politicians tried to introduce a law at national level to further criminalise squatters while the media reported time and time again how afflicted property owners are being deceived repeatedly by squatters. To top it all off, the mayor concludes the year with a report on a new policy designed to implement a more rigorous approach to squatting.
There’s not much left to say beyond 2019 having been a rather grim year, making it difficult to paint a hopeful picture for squatting in Amsterdam in 2020.

We look back on a year in which we, above all, lost a lot. […Lees verder]

Tags: Architecture of Appropriation. On Squatting as Spatial Practice, Gentrification, housing struggle, Jakra, kraken, Urban Struggle, wooncrisis, woonstrijd

<< previous entries

Joe's Garage