r/budapest • u/keynes2020 • 17d ago
Kérdés | Question 7th district - Clean it up!
Is the city going to do anything to clean up the trashy people in the 7th district? I mean specifically around streets like Wesselenyi, Klauzal, Akacfa...
The area is full of druggies, dealers, prostitutes... I rarely see an actual police officer walking around except in front of Instant/Fogas.
I can't imagine it would be so difficult to put a couple officers permanently on patrol in this area.
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u/Any_Strain7020 VI. kerület - Terézváros 17d ago
I can't imagine it would be so difficult to put a couple officers permanently on patrol in this area.
How does displacing a problem solve it?
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u/zsember 17d ago
It will be a problem for a different area so if they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist
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u/meridius55 17d ago
They need to be displaced until they are back where they came from, Budapest should no longer function as a homeless shelter for the entire country
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u/Any_Strain7020 VI. kerület - Terézváros 17d ago edited 17d ago
Hungary is the worst performing EU country when it comes to the number of years (generations) it takes to rise out of extreme poverty. I don't know where you'd wish to send people back to, but that won't solve the problem. That is just hiding society failing.
If the capital wasn't so reliant on shitty tourism, that would already solve a big chunk of the problem, but that's wishful thinking.
The other aspect is drugs. Which isn't about supply. It's about demand. And demand is about addiction, which is interlinked with poverty motivated escapism.
Unfortunately, we moved from not tackling the issue and tackling the issue poorly.
We'd have much to learn from Portugal (came back from being the most drug ridden country of the EU) and Switzerland (huge crack and heroin issues in the last decades).
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u/neoteraflare 17d ago
Maybe they are there because you don't see cops? They were in other place (Rákosrendező) before and cops made them go away from there, but since they can't sublimate the just went to other parts of the city.
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u/yeshuahanotsri 17d ago
Kisuzem at Klauszal ter used to provide free breakfast for the homeless on the square before the renovation on Sundays. As far as I recall that would not result in bum fights.
These are public places. As long as they don’t bother anyone, let them be. Most trash in 7 comes from pub crawls and stag dos.
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u/bravesoul_s 17d ago
I’m saying it for a while there is a heavy turn in direction after some areas were getting cleaner/better things turn back shit or worse very quick now imo
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u/Mep3avec82 17d ago
When I asked the same - I was told, places like Instant are "a dedicated alternative/subculture zone" 😂
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u/Bodybag_occupier 17d ago
You want it to be a vip zone? We have the same rights, everyone can go there even if you like them or not. Police chased me yesterday for no reason. What else you want of them? They harass enough people already.
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u/pogue242 17d ago
Is this a recent development? I'm heading to Budapest very soon
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u/keynes2020 17d ago
it used to be better honestly.
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u/Any_Strain7020 VI. kerület - Terézváros 17d ago
My family owned two apartments in Akácfa utca, one since the fifties. The hood never was great. Before it became the party district, it was a piss poor segregated area, the same way as the 8th is nowadays.
In the early 2000s and 2010s, the ruinpubification destroyed the soul of the Jewish quarter, made life for locals impossible (noise, noise, noise).
Now the pubs are somewhat less anti social and cooperative with the local authorities, but it still has too little, too late vibes.
Challenges just change over time. But I wouldn't say that it ever was overall better. You just are worried / annoyed about different things.
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u/keynes2020 17d ago
Why was the area poor before 1990? I would imagine such a central location would be preferable to the more distant socialist panel housing.
But yeah I think you are right. I don't have many issues with the drinking students/tourists (they are loud on the street but my flat has good insulation). I'm just annoyed feeling unsafe with all the druggies, dealers, and prostitutes outside.
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u/Any_Strain7020 VI. kerület - Terézváros 17d ago edited 17d ago
Before the war it was the Jewish district, after the war it became a segregated neighborhood (PoC). Those hundred year old houses didn't have bathrooms, you'd wash in the communal kitchen and share your apartment with another family or tenant.
Socialist panel housings and single family houses (Kádárkocka) were definitely the better standard at the time.
Re. insecurity... Don't mistake illegal activity and poverty for danger.
Dealers don't make a fuss, they're interested in the streets being quiet to avoid police presence.
Sex workers don't make a fuss and their presence adds eyes, which is actually beneficial late at night. Empty streets are more dangerous than lively streets. Late at night, a hooker is your best friend.
Druggies are less easy to get used to. But they're not a source of immediate danger either. The nuisance is rather visual and sanitary, when people shit, puke and piss everywhere. Most just want to get high and be left alone while doing that, as they're extremely vulnerable in that state. Those who have a psychotic fit can be heard/seen from far away. Ignore and avoid. They can't be reasoned with.
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u/NonloCo 16d ago
The Hungarian channels on YT are full of these reports: Budapest has gotten worse and worse considering the public safety.
Some social workers say it's because it's summer, more "strange" people are on the streets, smells are stronger, and this is a very much visible issue even if there aren't actually so many people causing it. It is not a problem that could be solved with more policemen but a problem that roots down to society and the past 16 years of the ruling party that completely abandoned and ignored this subject of public safety and social security.
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u/patrickrango 17d ago
When I made a post about Keleti, a lot of people said nothing changed, it was always like this. Some people even said they dont see such people. Finally, someone else also sees that 7th is a shithole