Santo Domingo.- The deputy of the constituency number 2 of the National District, Tobias Crespo, warned that the residents of The Gardens of the North, They will not allow the government to destroy green areas to build the Regional District of the National Policewhich would cause irreparable damage to our ecosystem, as well as massive slum development and chaos in the area.
“We really do not understand why the authorities want to destroy the last and only lung left to the National District, along with the Botanical Garden and the Mirador Norte. In addition to the slum development and the disaster that it would bring for all the residents of this district,” he said.
The legislator called on President Luis Abinader to find another place for this construction, since its construction would cause irreparable damage to this important green area declared a “Municipal Protected Area.”
“We call on all movements fighting for the defence and protection of protected areas and the environment to remain alert and permanently vigilant in order to defend the green areas of Los Jardines del Norte,” he said.
Tobías Crespo recalled that due to the importance of this green lung, he submitted a resolution to the Chamber of Deputies requesting that all green areas of Los Jardines del Norte be declared a “Municipal Protected Area”, which was unanimously approved by the legislators in the session of May 2023.
“We do not understand how, despite the opposition and rejection of the residents of this sector and surrounding communities, the government intends to build the Regional District of the National Police in this green zone, when this resolution of our authorship was approved and validated by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources,” he said.
“What the authorities must do is finish the renovation of several works that were more than 80 percent complete and yet, they are all paralyzed and closed. The Fray Ramón Pané school. Two sports fields, causing young people to have no place to play sports. Also, the Canquiña park where parents took their children to play, but it was destroyed and its completion is still pending, and the water treatment plant, causing the area to flood every time it rains a little, among other important works. Also closed and paralyzed for 4 years, the reconstruction of the Catholic church, whose parishioners have been officiating masses under the trees, in the open air, for 4 years.
What the Environment says
Tobias Crespo recalled that the president of the Permanent Commission on the Environment of the Chamber of Deputies, Jose Agustin Medina Santos, sent the resolution to Minister Miguel Ceara Hatton, who highlighted the feasibility of protecting this area.
“We believe it is feasible to grant some type of protection and management within the municipal sphere to these green areas and for this ministry to offer the necessary technical assistance to guarantee the most important ecosystem services of these urban spaces (regulation and cultural) that are relevant to keeping Dominicans residing in the capital of the country healthy,” the official said in a statement.
Executive power
The deputy of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) also reported that the approved resolution was sent to President Luis Abinader via the Legal Consultancy of the Executive Branch, by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, and received on June 12, 2023.
“So the truth is that we do not understand how President Luis Abinader, knowing of the resolution that declares, “Municipal Protected Area all the green areas of Los Jardines del Norte”, sent Vice President Raquel Peña, who gave the first blow by starting the work in this area two weeks ago.
“The National Police District Regional Office that the government intends to build in the center of the green area will not only affect the Los Jardines del Norte sector, but also Los Ríos, Arroyo Hondo and other sectors belonging to the capital’s second district,” he said.
