No more nightly ban on alcohol in parks in Mitte

James-Simon-Park

The nightly alcohol ban imposed on two parks in Mitte after riots no longer applies.

The district office has lifted the general decree applicable to James-Simon-Park and Monbijoupark, a spokesman told the German Press Agency on Monday. With this, the district accepts a decision made by the Administrative Court of Berlin, which had prematurely terminated the alcohol ban in force since July 2022 in summary proceedings. The district office has decided not to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg, the spokesman declared.

Alcohol ban was supposed to apply until September 11

Originally, the alcohol ban, which applied on the premises from 10 pm to 6 am, was supposed to apply until September 11. The district wanted to prevent littering, noise pollution and wild urination inside the parks and thus protect the green spaces. Before the ban, there had been riots and police intervention in the parks this year and the previous year. For example, the police had cleared James-Simon-Park in mid-July when about 250 people had gathered there to party. The police had described the atmosphere as heated and loud.

Few police interventions when alcohol ban was effective

According to the district administration, the situation had eased in recent weeks. "The experience with the nightly alcohol ban was very positive," district mayor Stephan von Dassel (Green Party) told RBB. Public order officers and police had to intervene less during the time of the ban, he said. The Berlin Police Union had previously criticized that the main burden of the controls lay with police officers. Employees of the district's public order office had supported them on Fridays and Saturdays between 9:30 pm and 11:30 pm.