Since this Thursday, dozens of peddlers close to the Maria Montez station Santo Domingo Metro, At Km 9, they face the demolition of their premises as part of the expansion of the Duarte Highway.
The measure has generated strong discontent among merchants, who have dedicated years of effort and resources to their businesses in the area.
Alejandro Mendezwho has worked in the area for more than 33 years, expressed his frustration with the financial compensation offer, calling it insufficient.
“That’s not even enough for a shoe shiner, because 200,000 or 150,000 is not enough. A store costs half a million pesos just in rent for a year,” said Méndez.
“I’m worried, even my head hurts,” he added.
Bernardina Filpa, another merchant with more than three decades in the area, shared the same sentiment.
“If they have already decided to evict us, they should at least offer us what our property is worth. property“, he demanded.
“When we leave here, we will be unemployed. We don’t know where we will find work. We pay rent, we have debts and what they offer us is not enough to survive,” he added.
They pointed out that some businesses have invested significant sums, up to three million pesos, in merchandise and improvements, which makes the compensation offer a “mockery.”
«We are afraid that they will throw us out without money because that is an abuse what they are offering and it does not even give us enough to eat ice cream, because here there is investment of up to 3 million pesos and 2 million pesos for the least expensive business that has 200,000 invested,” they expressed with resignation.
Other business owners also complained that despite the demolition of the premises beginning, they have not even received a financial offer.
“They came with their machinery and broke everything. We had to pick up our merchandise and run away so it wouldn’t go bad,” they said.
It is recalled that the work at Trébol del 9 includes a complete evacuation of the environments where they remain. peddlers and an intercity bus terminal, to make way for recreational areas, landscaping and that it serves as a green lung for this part of the city, designed as exhibitors of Dominican art, with artists who are already working on works of art, in addition to a free pedestrian area of around 75 meters in length.
