Warsaw mayor pledges support for merchants after Marywilska fire
Warsaw’s Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski has vowed to do “everything possible” to save jobs and support merchants following the devastating fire at Marywilska 44 shopping hall.
Marywilska 44.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
During a press conference on Friday, Trzaskowski announced plans to rebuild and implement interim solutions to help affected businesses.
„We are working to bring about the possibility of rebuilding the hall itself. As an office, we will do everything to facilitate this process, but we have to wait until the site is made available to the company and analyses can be carried out,” Trzaskowski said.
In the meantime, the city is exploring temporary solutions, such as setting up a tent hall near the site of the fire. „The company has declared that it will work with us to develop such temporary solutions. We will try to facilitate this process,” he added.
Trzaskowski also addressed the financial concerns of the merchants. „I have responded to the demands of the merchants, which said that for the time when the hall will not be rebuilt, we should not charge fees resulting from the leases, because this will also allow and facilitate the company to rebuild the hall,” the Warsaw Mayor stated.
He mentioned that discussions are ongoing to provide additional financial relief. „There have also been other demands for ad hoc assistance, which relate to possible installment or delay of all those fees related to either Social Security or VAT. I know that those in power at the moment are working on these types of ad hoc solutions,” Trzaskowski emphasized.
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Earlier this month, a massive blaze destroyed the Marywilska 44 shopping hall that housed over 1,400 stores and service outlets. An investigation by the prosecutor’s office is underway to determine the cause of the blaze.
(jh)
Source: PAP
