Athens mayor defiant after spate of vandalism
Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis has condemned a spate of vandalism in the city center directed against flower boxes set up as part of the Grand Walk as well as a monument to the victims of a fire at a branch of Marfin Bank in 2010.
“After desecrating the monument to the dead of Marfin, the next ‘revolutionary’ act of vandalism was against the urban fixtures on the Grand Walk,” Bakoyannis wrote on his Facebook page.
“Those who try to destroy and to demolish do so in vain,” he wrote. “We will continue to build and to dream of a better Athens.”
Tuesday’s vandalism on the flower boxes on Panepistimiou Street featured anarchist-style slogans such as “Revolt” and “Chaos Everywhere.”
There were no reports of any arrests related to the vandalism by late on Wednesday.
City Hall’s Grand Walk project aims to create an extensive network in Athens for pedestrians and bicycles, freeing up around 50,000 square meters of space, creating 2,000 parking spots for motorcycles and 12 taxi stands, and speeding up bus services.
