Legal row leaves block in limbo
By Vivian Nereim and Anna Zacharias
Nov. 27, 2011
ABU DHABI // On an expanse of concrete in the heart of the city, three friends sat on a dusty ledge this month, talking and laughing. It was the second evening of Eid Al Adha, but the men were spending their holiday in an empty property, surrounded by rubble, rubbish and graffiti.
“We come here to pass the time,” said Abdur Rouf, 52, a Bani Yas resident from Bangladesh.
“There’s no other place for us,” said Mahmoud Renu, 40, also from Bangladesh, who was lounging on the other side of the block-long space. “We just come to drink tea.”
Mr Rouf and Mr Renu were joined by about 40 other men, scattered throughout an area that has become a de facto public square. Hidden off Hamdan Street, behind Liwa Centre, the property was once a garden, with greenery and play areas for children -- before it was partially demolished for a building project, residents and shopkeepers said.
“We saw they would make a business centre,” Mr Rouf said. “We were very afraid that if they come, where will the children play?”
The youth who played football and cricket in the area have long since disappeared. The business centre never materialised. For more than a year, the property has idled, the subject of a lawsuit between the former developer and Abu Dhabi municipality.
“They said a big company was coming to make a park, but they didn’t, they left. Now look at it,” Mr Renu said. “Maybe they should make it like the Corniche, but they don’t.”
Adel Al Rabeea, public relations manager for the municipality, said that officials could not comment on ongoing litigation. The property is now the responsibility of the Department of Transportation (DoT), he said.
The DoT did not respond to requests for comment.
Samir Salloum, a lawyer for the former developer, Bonfood, declined to comment on the company’s disputes with the municipality, saying only that the lawsuit was filed with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Court.
Bonfood’s general manager, Ashok Sarasamma, said his company had planned a dining, retail and entertainment complex on the property called “Bon City”. Two or three years ago, Bonfood began to prep for construction, sinking about Dh10 million into the project, according to Mr Sarasamma.
It took a while to receive the proper licences from the municipality, he said. Then, the municipality sent a letter telling the company to cease work on the project, he said.
“By the time this happened they handed over all this project to Mawaqif,” he said. The parking agency operates a car park underneath the property.
Mr Sarasamma said he expects a ruling soon in the court case.
“Of course we’re asking for compensation, but we don’t know what is the decision. Whatever it is, we will accept it.”
For now, the property is a quiet spot in a busy neighbourhood, surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings, a large mosque and shops that sell textiles, curries, beaded jewellery and prayer mats. “No access” signs are posted on the northeastern side of the lot, where metal barriers block pedestrians. But the southwestern half, near the mosque, is open to passersby.
The surface is pocked with potholes. There is rubbish everywhere: empty paint buckets, shredded newspapers, broken glass. Still, each evening, more than a dozen people linger: chatting, eating, smoking, thinking.
“This is a park, but no plants,” said Shafiqur Rahman, 38, from Bangladesh, gesturing at the uneven pathways.
Shopkeepers still take pride in their forgotten garden.
“It’s a good area for business. This is Abu Dhabi’s main entrance, and we have a big mosque,” said Zayed Abdul Jalili, 25, who works in a shop that sells blonde baby dolls with blinking red earrings. “Too many people come here for entertainment. Before it was good, there were fountains, there was water coming up.
“Now, we don’t have anything.”
After workers demolished the garden, Mr Jalili planted melon seeds. The fruit has flourished, spreading a patch of green across the sand.
A version of this article was published in The National newspaper.
Nov. 27, 2011
ABU DHABI // On an expanse of concrete in the heart of the city, three friends sat on a dusty ledge this month, talking and laughing. It was the second evening of Eid Al Adha, but the men were spending their holiday in an empty property, surrounded by rubble, rubbish and graffiti.
“We come here to pass the time,” said Abdur Rouf, 52, a Bani Yas resident from Bangladesh.
“There’s no other place for us,” said Mahmoud Renu, 40, also from Bangladesh, who was lounging on the other side of the block-long space. “We just come to drink tea.”
Mr Rouf and Mr Renu were joined by about 40 other men, scattered throughout an area that has become a de facto public square. Hidden off Hamdan Street, behind Liwa Centre, the property was once a garden, with greenery and play areas for children -- before it was partially demolished for a building project, residents and shopkeepers said.
“We saw they would make a business centre,” Mr Rouf said. “We were very afraid that if they come, where will the children play?”
The youth who played football and cricket in the area have long since disappeared. The business centre never materialised. For more than a year, the property has idled, the subject of a lawsuit between the former developer and Abu Dhabi municipality.
“They said a big company was coming to make a park, but they didn’t, they left. Now look at it,” Mr Renu said. “Maybe they should make it like the Corniche, but they don’t.”
Adel Al Rabeea, public relations manager for the municipality, said that officials could not comment on ongoing litigation. The property is now the responsibility of the Department of Transportation (DoT), he said.
The DoT did not respond to requests for comment.
Samir Salloum, a lawyer for the former developer, Bonfood, declined to comment on the company’s disputes with the municipality, saying only that the lawsuit was filed with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Court.
Bonfood’s general manager, Ashok Sarasamma, said his company had planned a dining, retail and entertainment complex on the property called “Bon City”. Two or three years ago, Bonfood began to prep for construction, sinking about Dh10 million into the project, according to Mr Sarasamma.
It took a while to receive the proper licences from the municipality, he said. Then, the municipality sent a letter telling the company to cease work on the project, he said.
“By the time this happened they handed over all this project to Mawaqif,” he said. The parking agency operates a car park underneath the property.
Mr Sarasamma said he expects a ruling soon in the court case.
“Of course we’re asking for compensation, but we don’t know what is the decision. Whatever it is, we will accept it.”
For now, the property is a quiet spot in a busy neighbourhood, surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings, a large mosque and shops that sell textiles, curries, beaded jewellery and prayer mats. “No access” signs are posted on the northeastern side of the lot, where metal barriers block pedestrians. But the southwestern half, near the mosque, is open to passersby.
The surface is pocked with potholes. There is rubbish everywhere: empty paint buckets, shredded newspapers, broken glass. Still, each evening, more than a dozen people linger: chatting, eating, smoking, thinking.
“This is a park, but no plants,” said Shafiqur Rahman, 38, from Bangladesh, gesturing at the uneven pathways.
Shopkeepers still take pride in their forgotten garden.
“It’s a good area for business. This is Abu Dhabi’s main entrance, and we have a big mosque,” said Zayed Abdul Jalili, 25, who works in a shop that sells blonde baby dolls with blinking red earrings. “Too many people come here for entertainment. Before it was good, there were fountains, there was water coming up.
“Now, we don’t have anything.”
After workers demolished the garden, Mr Jalili planted melon seeds. The fruit has flourished, spreading a patch of green across the sand.
A version of this article was published in The National newspaper.