If the Government of Serbia does not urgently make a decision on the declaration of Neymar as a cultural and historical entity of special importance, this part of Belgrade will disappear forever. Therefore, at today's meeting organized by the Society for the Preservation of Neymar, the citizens sent another appeal, with a warning that the historical heritage is at risk.
The Society for the Preservation of Neymar announced that apart from the two villas in Haji Melentijeva Street 72 and 47, where the investor is still pushing the procedure for issuing a building permit even though his request was once rejected, two more locations are now under attack: number 15 and number 10 in Janko Veselinović Street.
The study on the declaration of Neymar as a cultural-historical unit was done last year by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade, and forwarded it for further procedure.
In March of this year, the proposal reached the Ministry of Culture and Information, and from there it did not move to the Government as the final instance of decision-making. The unofficial explanation is that the elections were awaited, and therefore the new Government.
All four houses were evaluated by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments as "object of value" and "object of special value". Therefore, each one is valued as a valuable object of cultural heritage and must not be demolished, they can be adapted with minimal changes and the consent of the Institute.
The project for Hadži Melentijeva 72 was completed in 1926, and the following year it was built for a family of Russian emigrants of Jewish origin, Kozinski, known for Yevsej Abramović Kozinski, who was the manager of the mental hospital in Guberevac. The other three listed houses are also from 1927.
The Society for the Preservation of Neymar warns that there is a justified danger that by the time the declaration of Neymar as a historical entity is on the agenda of the new government, there will already be multi-story buildings.
Other parts of old Vračar are also threatened.
At the time of this protest, it was announced that the demolition of a one-story house at Prote Mateje 41, built 80 years ago, had begun. A construction permit has been obtained for a five-plus-one-story building. The building board is not installed.
According to information from Ne davimo Beograd, the applicants are Ivan Trifunović and "Bureau cube partners", which is known to the public for the Detailed Regulation Plan, which envisages the construction of a solitaire on the Bežanijska Kosa.
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
