The Decision to Truly Turn the Opera Garden into a Park is Undeniable: Hakob Karapetyan

The decision to truly turn the Opera Garden into a park is undeniable, as it stems from the interests of our city and the desires of its residents. This was stated by the press secretary of Yerevan Mayor Hakob Karapetyan on his Facebook page.

His post reads:

“Regarding the cleaning of the Opera Garden:

As we informed earlier, the Yerevan municipality sent notifications on December 13, 2018, to five businesses operating in the area adjacent to the Opera House under lease rights, that according to the contract, the lease agreement would be terminated within a thirty-day period.

The State Committee of Cadastre has terminated the lease rights based on the municipality's request after the 30-day deadline expired. Subsequently, on February 13, the municipality sent notifications to the former lessees, proposing that they clear the area of their property, including unauthorized constructions, within a reasonable period.

However, the former lessees have not cleared the area for certain reasons, and as of today, the relevant departments of the municipality have started dismantling the structures existing on community land to begin landscaping work.

I would like to once again draw attention to the fact that the entire process, from the moment it began, has been conducted in accordance with legality and in compliance with the terms of the contracts with the former lessees.

The decision to truly turn the Opera Garden into a park is undeniable, rooted in the interests of our city and the desires of our city’s residents.

P.S. By the way, the opinions voiced in the press suggesting that allegedly 300 people will lose their jobs due to the removal of cafes are, to put it mildly, exaggerated. At the same time, as we have previously stated, the municipality is ready to assist those same entrepreneurs within the framework of its powers to develop their businesses in other areas of the city, now within the limits of legality.”