Plans, gentlemen. Just plans.
There have been lots of plans over the years.
Making Amsterdam more like Brussels or Antwerp may appeal to some business interests, but in time it will become clear that NOBODY VISITS BRUSSELS OR ANTWERP!

I always dreamed that the rest of the world could be more like Amsterdam. Never imagined it would go the other way around. Still don't believe it will really happen.

This has to be a money losing proposition. Hope the "business interests" figure it out before they do irreversible damage.

Weasel

Mates,

I just can't take this shite any longer. First we need to take the alcohol out of coffeeshops. Next- you can't smoke tobacco in public. Next, we have to ban the sale of mushrooms. Also, let's close approx 43 coffeeshops along with numerous windows in de wallen.

What do we have left ? Qoute- 200 windows and thirty coffeeshops that you can't find anywhere else in the world- end quote- wow, I think I just blew a load. I need some bloody medicine. What was once the center of one of the worlds few humaine and tolerant approaches towardes the human vices of " prostitutioin " and " soft drugs" is starting to resemble the rest of the planet regarding these so called problems.

Congrats to the do gooders- Dolleb, St Annen and Tromp will look sexy with a starbucks, a t-shirt shop and a snack bar. That is certainly the healthy type of culture we all crave. We all feel comfort in knowing that the bad elements in the neighborhood will pack up and leave town for good.

Once apon a time there was a centrum neighborhood know as de wallen that " got it right " for a short period of time. I think we have seen the high water mark in Amsterdam- sadly, IMO that mark was not high enough, nor sustained for long enough. God save the holy land we all love.

Excuse me, I need to go injest a large load of opiates to sooth the pain- don't be like me.

Rasta !

thanks matty !!!

yes I am sick by reading these headlines...msn.com, cnn.com etc reports make it all too real. This was my biggest fear when the Dutch signed onto the European Union. It was a slow and steady death and then the rest of the EU states would begin to impose their will on a weak Netherlands nation. Thats the way it seems to me, outward pressure from the other EU countries trying to create a union.
I hope the great Dutch citizens vote away the people they actually voted for these sanctions in the first place. I pray that the religious right don't infect your wonderful country as it has with my homeland, the USA.
The existing closures of windows is a complete waste of time
De Wallen is why many tourists visit Amsterdam in the first place...thats why I go there
Coffeshops is why many tourists visit Amsterdam in the first place...thats why I go there

You dont have to be a sex or marijuana tourist to enjoy Amsterdam, just experiencing the free environment and culture will make any visitor a fan of the place...the thought of losing my beloved Amsterdam makes me want to go back "home" even more

sorry , i pressed`the button too much but I am mad about all this stuff

i would have thought the tromp/sexyland area would be kept for prostitution frankly

i mean, it will all be in one defined area, and easier to control imho

not forgetting German Kim works in that area has no bearing on my statement lol

It's nice to see that the MUPPETS in charge are the same all over the world. NOT!! Obviously they don't learn from past mistakes. Now what will happen is that prostitution will go underground like it was before it was made legal. How does this help in fighting crime? I say it does not. I thought that they legalised it in the first place to get the criminal element out of it.

Unfortunatly you will have the criminal element in all walks of life and in every job. So what's next? Retail, Hotels? As stated in another post the F**kwits must have piles of money stashed away if they want to reduce the tourists coming to the city for fun :-)

I think I will get some more trips in before the sh*t hits the fan.

Creamiche

How come Bill Clinton didn't legalize MJ then? And Obama won't either? Because of the religious right? Not that I support the RR, but we had polititcians who smoke(d) and still couldn't get a soft drug tolerance policy, that would make our country a whole lot better.

As far as this is concerned, as long as there are coffeeshops at all, I am happy.

I wonder about the legality of the private escorts within this plan. Are they going to harrass them, close them up? or will there be more of these?

Are they including coffeeshops on Warmostraat as part of this?

when are these plans suppose to take effect???

I'm a bit perplexed by this announcement, but still believe (perhaps hope now) that Dutch practicality will win the day, although quotes like this from one of the Aldermen do make me wonder what is going to happen and WTF he is thinking:

'Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do not see, but they are hurting people and the city. The new reality will be more in line with our image as a tolerant and crazy place, rather than a free zone for criminals,' said Alderman Lodewijk Asscher, one of the main proponents of the plan. 'We can still have sex and drugs, but in a way that shows the city is in control.

'It'll be a place with 200 windows and 30 coffee shops, which you can't find anywhere else in the world - very exciting, but also with cultural attractions. You won't have to be embarrassed to say you came,' he said.

Perhaps one of our locals or moderators could tell me why the City Council seems to be so gung ho about this move ? They've got two years remaining until another election and from what I've read, the majority is from the Center-Left, elected on a platform that said nothing about this issue. Not to be overly cynical, but are these guys just getting into bed (if you will) with the developers who want access to some of that central property ? The whole thing is a little strange on many levels for this sometime student of politics and society.

Wait and see I suppose, but don't like the news (although it is a decision for Holland and Dutch citizens to make) and am just happy to be headed back after New Years for a few days.

Thanks for keeping us informed and appreciate the insights as always.

Long live Amsterdam and Holland.

Whoa Nellie

Interesting that the Singel will live on restricted to Oude Nieuwstraat. Too bad the Pijp is apparently doomed. My guess is that they want to shut down the sexyland area to (1) clean things up near the old church and (2) to create a well defined RLD corridor. Or at least that's the good faith interpretation.

Regarding observations about tourism income. My guess is that they've calculated that this will have a minimal impact on that, and I think they're probably correct. I doubt, for example, that many will say "only 30 coffeeshops? Forget it!" And with 200 windows the Amsterdam RLD will still, I believe, be the largest in Europe. Prices will go up, but the free market will eventually stabilize. I.e. Resulting higher prices will not kill off soft drugs and commercial sex.

As for the Times Square clean up in NYC; yes, it's now Disneyland. But it's also true that it generates much more income for the city and serves many more tourists than it did when it was Nastyland.

I'm not saying I like these changes. I'm just saying they are not inconsistent with the stated goals. I.e. it's not true that what is being said doesn't make sense.

if the windows are a haven for laundering and the slave trade then why not close them all?...we find these a place for human suffering but will still welcome the tourists to 200 windows ....does this not seem a bit hypocrytical?

200 windows are still more than I'll need...but the £ to euro sitting at 95cent to the £ every little change could be another nail in the coffin of the tourist industry.

What I've come to realize is that if you insist on binary thinking you're never going to "get" the Dutch way of doing things. It's all a question of balance. I don't think they believe they are going to eliminate organized crime, trafficking, money laundering, etc. On the other hand that doesn't mean that they find any level of same as acceptable.

It's not hypocrisy in the sense that it's not being considered as a moral issue at all. It's a question of pragmatism.

My best guess is that Amsterdam will remain the (European) place with the best RLD and cannabis shops. It just won't be as good as it used to be. And we will all have the opportunity to turn into geezers who say things like "Back in my day, I remember when..."

Oh stop whining everyone.

It's a small price to pay to get rid of those evil mini supermarkets and souvenir shops.

I think you're right. Furthermore, I think the concentration of vices into smaller areas will help to control them, and no doubt squeeze what's already big money into fewer, probably corporate hands. People will tolerate high taxes upon their sins, and there's plenty of money to be made serving the market. I remember how Boston created the Combat Zone, and today, it's essentially gone. Maybe that's the long-term plan. Or else, maybe Amsterdam will emulate Las Vegas, except with legal sex. I can envision it becoming quite glamorous. Which, of course, would diminish the experience for many.

It makes me think that the prives may benefit from this. The local market will no doubt miss de Pijp. I don't see the menfolk going to Disneyland, nope. Hopping the Intercity to Den Haag, just for one destination, is too easy.

For what its is worth, what I am hearing whilst in Amsterdam this week.

The logic of keeping prostitution on OZAchterburgwal and Oude Nieustraat is for control. CCTV cameras will be placed at either end of these straight streets. The authorities want to see who is coming and going. The former is also the most historic and tourist recognised. By having two main streets it is [believed] easier to control that a network of different streets. There isn't really an expectation that issues such as traffiking will be reduced completelty, but the word is the Dutch like many Western European Countries are sick of properties and businesses being purchased by emerging Easter Economies such as Russian, where there are no shortage of billionaires. This is worse when there are no or few new houses in Amsterdam and the Netherlands and the housing marked is in crisis all over the world. The council want profitable dutch businesses to have control of the RLD areas.
On the one hand the authorities are feelign pleased. I hear they have just caught another loverboy gang, but also feel stupid because Charlie geets whose windows they bought out, with a partner has bought up more propery on Warmoestraat. I don't know what he is using it for.
There is a strong feeling the plans will go ahead, but they will not be quick. There is, however, some fear of both prosititution and marujuana used being forced underground.

As I said this is only what I am hearing, from people I know. However, I figured it may be of interest?

Brilliant news =/

They best not put my gorgeous Laura from Hungary on Dolleb out of business :(

What happened to tolerance? Tisk tisk

This morning it was the official presentation of the Amsterdam council notes. The afternoon newspapers write that there is much criticism on the plans, even from the local political parties. The religious CDA finds that the plans are not severe enough (why not to close ALL coffee-shops, they say).

The left-liberal ‘GroenLinks’ doesn’t agree with the closure of windows in the Singel area, as here prostitution is more friendly. Satisfied is the social PvdA (party of Lodewijk Asscher, the man who has initiated the plans); quote: “It is bull-shit that it is better in the Singel area, this is all false romance...”

In fact the plans are not very new. What we read in these official notes, was already announced in November 2006 and December 2007. We only know a few more details now. But there still are many open ends. In May/June 2009 procedures will start.

First the council will try to buy out the brothel and coffee-shop owners. Many already have declared not to take up the offer. Than a long process of dispossession will follow, which will take many years.

Even Lodewijk Asscher has said to expect that it will take ten to fifteen years before De Wallen are cleaned up. A quote from major Job Cohen: “City councils already struggle with De Wallen for more than four centuries. And that will remain so in the future...”

so he knows it's a Fool's Errand anyway...good, 10-15 years should be more than enough time to "clean up" the Gemeenteraad!

"WIJ Amsterdammers willen ONS Amsterdam terug!"
-paniked