A temple of cinema, a health hazard in the heart of Engomi. This is the former Othello movie theater, which played a role in raising generation after generation of Nicosia residents. The cinema closed about 20 years ago, and the building was left to fall into disrepair.
This place
used to be bustling with life. On the left was the cinema’s concession stand, while on the right was the entrance to Othello 1. Old film negatives lie scattered on the floor.
Despite the obvious signs of neglect on the outside—with crumbling plaster and cracks in the walls visible from the bustling 28th of October Avenue— the scene inside defies all imagination.
A small forest has sprung up
on the building’s roof, while the cinema’s roof has already collapsed.
The interior of the cinema hides a vast wasteland. Looted from end to end, the scene looks like something out of a horror movie. Animal skeletons on the stairs, feces at the entrances, and discarded flammable materials in every corner.
Piles of feces and animal remains bear witness to the building’s long-standing abandonment.
VASILIS HATZIGEORGIOU—Ground-floor store owner—
““Enough is enough—if the municipality or the EOA can’t enforce the law, we’ll take the law into our own hands.”
Outraged residents accuse the relevant authorities of indifference.
VASILIS HATZIGEORGIOU—Ground-floor store owner: “Fourteen years ago
, I sent a letter to the municipality of Engomi, crying out for help. The EOA has been inactive for a year now in imposing an administrative fine and claims it has covered the area with barbed wire for protection. Barbed wire does not provide protection.”
CHARALAMBOS PROUNTZOS—Mayor of
Nicosia: “We issued notices to the owners regarding the nuisance issues; there was no compliance, so we provided instructions for legal action through the courts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EOA) has already ruled that there is a risk and has proceeded to fence off the building.”
The mayor of Nicosia expresses the hope that the House of Representatives will provide local government with the tools to allow for immediate intervention in such cases.
CHARALAMBOS PRUNTZOS—Mayor of Nicosia: “I, too, am
a resident of Engomi, and I am ashamed of this situation. I expect the House of Representatives to pass these legislative initiatives immediately after the start of the parliamentary session.”
The issue reached the House of Representatives through a question posed by Eirini Charalambidou to the ministers of Health and the Interior.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
See the report by Christoforos Nestoros:
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