Rats, dirt and unusable bathrooms: neighbors denounce the decadence of the Slaughterhouse

PalmaWhat began as a spontaneous conversation between mothers and fathers at the Escorxador park in Palma has become a citizen platform. The conclusion they always ended with was the same: "What a shame, what the neighborhood has turned into," explains Joan Gomáriz, a member of Salvem s'Escorxador. They began to coordinate and, suddenly, there were a hundred people in a WhatsApp group. Then came the support of the neighborhood associations of Santa Pagesa and Can Capiscol, and the promise to reactivate the Camp Redó neighborhood community.

The platform's goal is to "revive the Slaughterhouse as a dignified space for the people, to be able to build community," says Gomáriz. The neighbors have already begun talking with the North district of Palma and assure that, for the moment, they have found "willingness" to listen to their demands. But they consider that now they must go further. "It is time to pressure," defends Gomáriz.

Among the main demands are improvements to maintenance, cleaning, and gardening, which the platform considers "clearly insufficient". "The gardening service comes once a month and removes four leaves... in reality, we don't have gardening," it criticizes. It also reports the frequent presence of rats, which "love the palm trees," and asserts that merchants have repeatedly expressed their discomfort regarding the state of the surroundings. "We also find dead pigeons for days without anyone coming to remove them," it laments.

"It can't keep up"

Gomáriz focuses on the resources allocated to cleaning. As he details, a single person is in charge of maintaining the premises with a bucket, a mop, a broom, a dustpan, and a hose. "They are a wonderful person, but they cannot keep up and it is not acceptable," he states.

Another of the problems pointed out is the public restrooms. Although a renovation was carried out, the platform asserts that they still have construction defects that have not been resolved. Furthermore, it reports that they clog frequently, are small, and that some elements are broken. The lack of available toilets means that, according to Gomáriz, some people "end up urinating in the gardens and corners" of the premises.

The platform also demands a solution for the library, which it considers has become too small, and argues that the empty spaces in the complex should be put at the service of the neighborhood's needs. In this sense, it points especially to the two largest warehouses, those of the former Sant Joan market, which are currently empty. "If there are empty warehouses, give them to the neighborhood center. If the library has become too small, expand it," proposes Gomáriz.

The neighborhood center, according to the neighborhood representative, has "a brutal life," but he considers that the Escorxador complex as a whole is not taking advantage of its full potential. The underlying demand is that the site should not simply become a commercial space, but that it should recover a civic function. "We don't want it to be a shopping center, but for it to be alive for the citizenry," he summarizes.

The platform asserts that it had already submitted formal written requests to the City Council before the summer, especially regarding issues related to cleaning, restrooms, and gardening, but it criticizes that the responses received have been insufficient. To these demands, they have added another one related to the walls of the premises, some of which are shored up and, according to the residents, may pose a danger. They also report significant deficiencies in the parking lot, which they consider currently cannot be used normally.

Dinner in the open air

After the holidays, Salvem s'Escorxador wants to resume mobilization. The first activity will be an outdoor dinner scheduled for September 11th, which the neighbors want to turn into a symbolic protest: occupying and bringing life to a space where, as they denounce, currently "practically no activity promoted by the neighbors has been organized".

The platform argues that the Escorxador has the potential to be "the civic center par excellence of Palma and it is completely abandoned" and, therefore, demands that the administrations act to recover it. "We want to claim a decent space for the people of Palma", concludes Gomáriz.