Palouriotissa residents say groups of youths are throwing stones, firecrackers and gas canisters into nearby homes from Aphrodite park, lighting fires outside houses and shouting abuse at anyone who complains.
In an open letter to Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos, residents said the situation had become unbearable and called for the park to be fenced off as soon as possible and for a guard to be appointed.
They told Phileleftheros that from the afternoon onwards they no longer feel able to go out into their yards, as groups aged between 13 and 20 enter the unfenced park and remain there late into the night. “From 6 in the evening onwards we do not dare step into our yard, not even as a joke,” they said.
Residents said the disturbances include shouting and screaming every night, foul abuse if anyone objects, and objects thrown into yards and onto balconies. “Lately they throw stones, firecrackers and gas canisters into our yards and onto our balconies. They throw them right under the bedrooms of our minor children,” they said.
They added that fires are often lit outside their homes and said the area has become increasingly tense. One resident recalled hearing “an enraged neighbour shouting at 1:00 in the morning that he would come out with a hunting rifle”.
In their letter, residents said they had repeatedly contacted the municipality but received no reply. “Unfortunately, neither the messages we left for you to contact us were ever answered, nor the emails we sent you,” they wrote, adding that their quality of life had fallen sharply over the past year.
They said the park had been upgraded, but argued that the works were carried out without proper consultation and had made matters worse. According to the letter, the new layout turned the park into a stronger attraction for delinquent teenagers and young adults because it remained open and unfenced at night.
Residents also said they had been told in late January that funding for fencing had been approved and that it would be installed before Easter, but that this had not happened. They said families now use the park only until late afternoon, while after that “no one dares go near it”.
They added that fires had broken out repeatedly, with the fire service called at least three times in the past month, while on other occasions neighbours themselves had run to put out the flames.
Residents said police sometimes respond quickly and send patrol cars, but at other times are unable to do so. They also said officers had told them: “So the municipality builds parks and the police have to deal with them?”
Prountzos confirmed to Phileleftheros that there are problems with delinquency in the park and said residents were right to complain. “The residents are right,” he said. He added that the park had recently been upgraded because it had previously been in poor condition and neglected, which in his view had also contributed to delinquency.
The mayor said fencing is expected to be installed within the year and that the municipality is seeking volunteers to open and close the park, or for that to be done by a road safety patrol. He also said the municipality would apply to the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection for permission to install security cameras.
Prountzos added that the issue of delinquency in specific parks had been raised with the chief of police and the justice minister. “We did not avoid dealing with the problems, but we believe repression alone is not enough,” he said, adding that the municipality would also pursue other measures in cooperation with other bodies, including the neighbourhood social worker programme.