Amsterdam to close 26 coffeeshops

Last week the final version of city planning strategy paper Coalition Project 1012 (pdf), was presented to the Amsterdam town council. The plan, developed by The Central Bureau and the municipal council, proposes closure of no less than 26 coffeeshops in and around the infamous red light district area.
The owners of these coffeeshops will be given a one off-permit for another three years, meaning that within three to six years, 26 coffeeshops will have to close their doors.

According to the city municipal the large number of coffeeshops in the area creates ‘an infrastructure that encourages criminality.’ Earlier this year, the city bought up several window brothels that are now being used to house art installations and designers’ fashion creations.

The city has teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce to ‘help think about alternative business plans’ for affected coffeeshop owners. Their current catering license could be used to turn their former store into a restaurant or – believe it or not – a bar.

An in-depth article about the upcoming coffee shop closures can be found here.

| |

Comments

raX - 2009-05-22 16:48:29

WTF!!!

diocane - 2009-05-22 22:04:39

this is the end

Henk - 2009-05-23 13:36:50

WTF was ook het eerste dat ik dacht als ik dit las.

Jeroen - 2009-05-24 23:11:19

WTF!!! Dit gaat echt way to far! Het wordt maar eens tijd voor een kweektent. Drie jaar om het bij elkaar te krijgen, en om fatsoenlijke (!) zaadjes/stekjes te halen.

Way to go... NOT! De overheid moet hier af/buiten blijven! Stelletje elitaire snobs! En dat vertegenwoordigd ons dan...

FirenzeOfMunich - 2009-05-25 17:48:20

Dude thats so sad....
The Coffeeshop culture of Adam is just such a gift to the world
and its unique...
Why do they need to destroy it?
Screw these brainwashed city municipal

Peace to you all
Firenze, from Munich, Germany

Sixmilliondollaracid - 2009-05-25 20:59:55

That's so fucked up! They're gonna try to close down everything that doesn't support their vision of how their slaves (us) should live

Don Jia - 2009-05-26 18:49:22

Stock up on high impact weapons now, kids, the final battle between the free and the strong - that's us - and the acidic, resentful, weak minded utterly miserable fucknuts, is nigh. Just remember, it's not the fuckin' popo, the gouvernment, the europarliament, your boss or even your fucking mom and pops who run your life. You don't need to listen to people who don't know shit telling you what's what, EVER.

gaboss - 2009-05-26 22:53:45

2012...? how does that not make me wonder?

the forth reich in full affect ... *rolleyes*

codename47 - 2009-05-27 14:27:19

that's so sad to see how the world changes into a place full of close-minded people that just want to take control over everything :(

CiSu - 2009-05-27 15:13:42

yeah dude you thinking right, the world is sad ...
when you arrive to Poland ? :D
a lot of smoke is waiting ;)

wheat - 2009-05-28 18:23:02

what a bitch man,shrooms now weed?

javier - 2009-05-29 01:27:47

this is fucking....bullshit, i need to get to amsterdam before this happens

Lev - 2009-06-01 19:12:01

Horrible, but I've known this has been coming (from reading about it being planned for many months now).

I downloaded the PDF and didn't see a list of the coffeeshops being closed. Is such a list available now?

I just visited Amsterdam back in April and love a few couple shops and would hate to see them disappear (Route 99, Old Church, Basjoe, Popeyes). Are only big name stores staying open, or are the politicians keeping to what they claimed this was all about and only directly targeting coffeeshops they can prove have a connection to organized crime? I get the feeling, this was just a lot of hot air, and that when they get down to it, they will simply target smaller and less popular shops, or shops with a more alternative and less mainstream theme.

If a list is available, I'd love to see it.

And for those of you who aren't aware... As much as this does suck, this is nothing new. It's been going on for many years now. Many coffeeshops (I think it was like 80 something, wasn't it?) were closed because of being in a specific range of schools.

I get the feeling that the Netherlands government is really concerned with reshaping its image, and they know drug use is a big part of that (soft or not, politicians rarely take the time to know the difference, much less care).

perfectuse - 2009-06-02 10:44:25

This needs a fuckin revolution right now!!!!

99luftballoons - 2009-10-30 22:16:09

The Dutch are craven merchant sluts, when the Amsteradam Eldermen realize how much tax revenue they will lose this way they will back down like the filthy dogs they are with their tails between their unwashed legs.

Add comment
Nickname *
Message *
Humanoid check *	These comments may only be submitted by humans. To check if you are humanoid, please enter the coloured letters from the image. The image only contains upper case letters and numbers, but you can give your input in upper and lower case. ( Click here if you can't read it )

Customer Support

Order information